Twenty Years
by Vimesy
Summary: They've fought their way across the Underworld, climbed Yggdrasil, and returned to fight the androids - twenty years to late. Gods of death, foolish wishes,and lots of babies...and the one little girl thats about to trump them all.
1. Yggdrasil

Trunks had learned, like Gohan, to inhale his food neatly and politely, no matter what it was. Bulma smiled as she watched her son eat; she could build any impossibly conceived notion, pilot any machine just by looking under the hood, but she couldn't fry bacon. She'd gotten lucky, though, to have a Sayajin child who had to be stopped from eating plastic.

Trunks jerked in his seat suddenly, only a little food spraying from his mouth, turning to face the south wall and cocking his head the way he did when he was feeling for power levels.

"Something the matter?" Bulma asked, setting her fork down and brushing her long hair out of her face.

"Strong power levels," Trunks grunted, and Bulma rolled her eyes; ever since he'd come back from the past, he tended to give the bare minimum of an answer, just like his father had done. "There's no one left alive who's that strong," Trunks set his fork down, wiped his mouth, and reached for his sword. "I'll be back."

"Don't stay out too late," Bulma called after him, and rolled her eyes again at his monosyllabic grunt. Yes, it'd done him good to get to know Vegeta a little bit, but a whole year with a man who hadn't been deflated by the accidental death of his greatest rival was a bit much.

As Trunks flew south, he didn't wonder about how much like his father he'd become; his only thought was that there was no way in hell nine ki's could have dropped out of the sky without him feeling their approach. Trunks wasn't a particularly literally minded person to begin with, though.

~*~*~*~

Twenty years previously, Vegeta stood on King Kai's driveway and snarled at the other dead Z Senshi that had been allowed to run Snake Way.

"Kakarrot, you blubbering idiot, your mate and son are down there on that mud ball with those two things blowing everything to kingdom come, and you cant bring yourself to find a way back?"

"They cant exactly wish us back, spaghetti head." Piccolo glowered, standing behind Goku with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm not talking about the Dragonballs, green bean," Vegeta had been bristling and snarling since the moment he'd gotten there, having already flickered in and out of Super Sayajin on accident several times.

"How else would we get back, then?" Goku flopped on the ground next to Bubbles, looking exasperated.

"Vegeta, no. Hell is already a dangerous place, and fighting your way through it is going to take too long. There's no way you could get to the Tree quickly enough." King Kai looked serious for once, his hands folded in his sleeves as he bowed his head.

"You know the quickest way to get Vegeta to do something?" Piccolo rolled his eyes at the god, "Tell him its impossible. Now we have to go with him, just to keep the fabric of reality from unraveling. Thanks, King Kia."

"So where are we going again?" Goku scratched his head, eyes wide.

"Yggdresil," Vegeta grinned, "We're already dead, so we find the roots of the tree and climb up."

"Will that really work?" Goku asked, cocking his head to one side. "Cause if it does, then why hasn't anybody else tried it?"

"You'll have to fight the King of Hel, first, that's why." King Kai sighed, shaking his head.

"Who's he?" Goku cocked his head to the other side, still curious.

"Oh, it changes from time to time, depending on who's dead, who's been reincarnated," King Kia waved a hand airily, looking off into the distance.

"You wanna tell us everything?" Piccolo asked, raising one eyebrow. "Like who might be King of Hel right now?"

King Kia laughed nervously, hunching his shoulders just a little. "Vegeta's father," He coughed, giggled nervously again, and took a few steps back.

Vegeta only grinned savagely, baring all of his teeth. "Lets go," He didn't wait for Piccolo or Goku to follow, merely jumped back onto Snake Way and took off.

"Okay!" Goku took off after him, racing to catch up.

"Piccolo," King Kai caught the Namek's attention as the green giant started after the two Sayajin. "I'll drop Gohan off with you guys when I see him."

Piccolo froze for a moment, hating the cold dread in the pit of his stomach; unlike Vegeta, he was actually capable of admitting that he'd died to save someone other than himself. Piccolo turned and raced down Snake Way, and prayed that they'd be in time.

~*~*~*~

Four years previously, Gohan buckled his seat belt diligently as King Kai revved the engine of his little red convertible.

"Yggdresil?" He asked, popping his recently returned arm out the window.

"They should be there now, actually. They've had to fight their way through Hell in order to get there." King Kai backed out of the garage, and then onto thin air as they left the planet entirely.

"Took 'em a while, huh?" Gohan stretched his feet out and made himself comfortable for the long ride.

"Vegeta's a very determined guy. He's going to have to fight his own father in order to get back to his son." Gohan was silent for a long moment, watching the clouds swirl under them.

"I'd do the same for my daughter." Gohan smiled bitterly. "Videl said she'd name her Pan. She only had the third ultrasound about a week before I died."

"You'll see her soon," King Kia floored the gas pedal, and laughed maniacally as he drove the car straight to Hell.

~*~*~*~

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at his father and grinned savagely. "So what do you say?"

The King of Hel grinned back; despite the peppered hair and the goatee, it was the same savage expression. "Sure, I'll come with you. Nothing like a new enemy to fight, and all the ones down here are getting a little stale."

"I'm coming with you," Bardock stood up from the root of the Tree he'd been sitting on, stretching lazily.

"Me, too," Raditz jerked his chin at his little brother. "You gotta problem with that?"

"Nah," Goku grinned, "The more the merrier!"

"Nappa, Cabbage?" The King of Hel quirked an eyebrow at his general, who turned and looked at his daughter for a long moment before he nodded to his king.

"We'll come." Nappa folded his arms across his chest as the pretty Sayajin girl stood up and dusted off her armor.

They turned as a group at the sound of honking; King Kai pulled up along side them in his red convertible, grinning. Gohan leapt out of the car and was bounding toward his father and Piccolo in a heart beat, pouncing like he hadn't done since he was six.

"Dad! Piccolo-san! Thank god I caught up with you guys, I thought you'd be on the tree already!"

"We were just leaving, actually," Piccolo didn't return the hug, but he didn't shove the young man away, and looked only a little disgruntled.

"Hey, Gohan! Do you remember your uncle Raditz? He promised he wouldnt try to kill us this time, and that's your grandpa Bardock! And that's Vegeta's dad, but its gonna get pretty confusing because his name is Vegeta, too, and you remember Nappa? I dont think he's gonna try to kill us again, either, and that's his daughter Cabbage! And guess what?" Goku grinned, paused long enough for Gohan to draw a breath, then barged on. "They're gonna come with us and help us defeat the androids!"

"Oh," Gohan's smile froze, "Great," he turned the glassy smile to the group and waved awkwardly. "I'm Gohan," The young man eyed Raditz warily, glassy smile fixed firmly in place at this point.

"The brat, too? What kind of idiot are you, trying to kill your nephew?" Bardock snarled, slapping his eldest son upside the head.

"I wasn't gonna kill 'im! I was just using him for bait. Sorry about that, by the way." Raditz sulked, rubbing the back of his head and glaring sidelong at his father.

"Are we leaving or are we just going to stand around with our thumbs up our asses?" Vegeta snarled.

"I'll take the crown back to Her Highness," King Kai offered, still leaning out of his car window. He caught the circlet as the King of Hel tossed it to him, still grinning savagely.

"Give the half-rotted bitch my best regards," King Vegeta turned and started climbing up the enormous tree, the other Sayajin and Namek following just behind him. King Kai watched them disappear into the roiling clouds, then looked down at the circle of metal in his hands and shuddered.

If there was one person everyone could agree to not get along with, it was the Queen of the Underworld.

~*~*~*~

"_What the hell_?" Trunks dropped several inches in surprise as he got close to the group of people. They were dropping out of the branches of an enormous tree that hadn't been there yesterday; as Trunks got closer, and the last one dropped to the ground, the tree faded away as if it had never been there. The tree was a bit of a side note, though, as Trunks landed and the group turned to face him.

"Father?" he asked tentatively, but he didn't wait for a response as he looked over the rest of them. "Gohan? Piccolo? Goku? Who the hell are all these people?"

"Is this the brat you've been babbling about?" King Vegeta circled Trunks, glaring him up and down. "Why, in the name of all things holy, is my grandson fucking _purple_?"

"He gets it from his mother. Rings and moon, you got big, brat." Vegeta circled his son as well, stepping around his father as the older Sayajin stood in front of Trunks with his arms crossed over his chest.

"As touching as this little family reunion is," Piccolo rolled his eyes, "We came back for a reason. Where are the androids?"

Trunks eyed the Namek for a long moment, his expresion slowly darkening. "It took you long enough," he snarled, before snaping his blue eyes around to glare at his father. "I killed them, over a year ago. I avenged your death, and all the other deaths they caused, and you show up a year later wondering where they are? What the hell took you so long?!"

"Hell, honey," Cabbage smirked, and everyone turned to her. "Your daddy fought his way across hell for you, climbed the Tree of Life for you, and you've still got issues. You're Sayajin; beat seven kinds of shit out of the problem, and get the fuck over it."

"You're one to talk, you loud-mouthed cunt," Raditz snarled at her, barely dodging Nappa as the larger man tried to crush his skull.

"Silence!" King Vegeta barked, glaring balefully over his shoulder. When they'd settled, he turned back to his grandson and hit him squarely across the jaw. "Can you fight, boy? Or have you been left on this mudball to yourself for too long?"

"He can fight," Prince Vegeta stepped between his father and son, teeth bared, "If he killed the androids, he can fight well enough to shut an old man up," Vegeta let his savage grin creep across his face, just before he tripped his father and son into a snarling, royal feud, rolling across the grass as they insulted and beat each other.

"Wow," Goku stared at three generations brawling in the grass, "I'm glad we don't do that. Lets go eat, I bet Chi Chi will have dinner ready in about an hour."

"Just you wait, little brother," Raditz warned, and took off after Goku as his younger brother leapt into the air. "C'mon, Dad, the grub cant be that bad."

Bardock shook his head and took off after his sons, shaking his head and smirking.

"Hey, Piccolo, will you meet me at my parents house? I have to go pick someone up," Gohan took to the air as well, heading in the opposite direction of his father, uncle, and grandfather.

"Sure," Piccolo grunted, before turning his attention back to the still-brawling royal family. "You three done yet?"

Trunks pulled away from the brawl, laughing in that desperate way people do to keep from crying. His father kicked him playfully in the ribs, before sprawling in the grass next to him.

"Where's the woman?" he asked, rubbing idly at the grass stains on his armor.

"At home," Trunks jerked a thumb over his shoulder the way he'd come, "You might not want her to cook, though. She hasn't gotten any better at it." Vegeta merely smirked, and cocked an eyebrow at his father.

"I can cook," Cabbage folded her arms across her chest and cocked one hip, glaring. "Does His Majesty wish to dine?"

"I've been dead forty years, and you want to know if I'm hungry? Rings and moon, you're almost as thick as your father. Lets go. Lead the way, brat. You coming, green bean?" King Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at Piccolo, still grinning savagely as he adjusted his armor.

"No. I'll check in with you tomorrow."

"Fuck off, then," King Vegeta leapt into the air, following his son and grandson, Nappa and Cabbage on his tail.

As Trunks led the way back to Capsule Corporation, he didn't think about how similar he'd become with his father; he was a little more focused being literally minded.

A/N; I wrote this before I got worried about finals, and now that its finals week, I'm posting. Its going to be a bit of a wait for the next chapter, though, because I'm on the job hunt, but as soon as things settle down, I'll get back into the swing of things.


	2. Reunions Part 1

Trunks walked into his mothers kitchen and paused; how does one tell ones mother that the only man she's ever loved has returned from the grave after twenty years?

"Mom? Dad's back. He brought some friends." Trunks stepped out of the doorway, carefully watching the frozen woman still sitting at the kitchen table.

Vegeta stepped into the doorway, smirking with his arms folded over his chest. "Miss me?" he asked, and held his arms open as she launched herself across the room at him. She didn't scream or wail; Bulma Briefs had grown used to disappointment, and the few silent tears that slipped out were a testament to her endurance. There was a long silence, the only noise the sound of Bulma and Vegeta breathing each other in. The magic of the moment was broken as Cabbage slipped past them with an irritated sigh.

"Show me what you've got." She was looking at Trunks when she said it, but the way her eyes flicked up and down his frame made him think she might mean more than just the contents of the kitchen. Mildly perturbed, he helped the irate Sayajin woman navigate Bulma's scraggly kitchen while Bulma was formally introduced to her father-in-law.

"My father, and you remember Nappa. The bitch is his brat, Cabbage." Vegeta jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the two remaining Sayajin. "We're meeting up with Kakarrot and his brood tomorrow. Brat, take care of the company." Vegeta ordered as he threw Bulma over his shoulder and went down the hallway towards the bedroom.

Bulma shrieked first in surprise, and then in anger, as she let all of the old reactions take over, and working herself up into the kind of rage only Vegeta could inspire in her.

Trunks caught the amused look his grandfather wore as the Prince of all Sayajins walked away, and the look the old king exchanged with Nappa.

"No wonder," the hulking Sayajin said as he sat himself at the table, and his king laughed.

"What Sayajin in his right mind wouldn't fight their way across hell for that?" the king sank tiredly into the chair next to Nappa and sighed.

Trunks looked away from them just in time to catch the disgusted look on Cabbage's face. She turned away from the men entirely, focusing on the meat she already had cooking on the stove, and Trunks really looked at her. Her armor did nothing to flatter her figure, her hair was a wild, unkempt mess, and there was definitely dried blood under her fingernails; she was gorgeous, either despite or because of all of that. Trunks had known women who either knew they were beautiful or didn't – he'd had one night stands at the kind of revels people throw in order to forget that they might die tomorrow, and the few women he'd gotten to know in his life had been strong in character. Cabbage didn't care that she was beautiful, and the fearlessness in her face and stance was almost rabid. Rabid was a good word to describe her, he decided – she was a fearless, rabid bitch who didn't give a damn, and it made her dangerous. Cocky, too, Trunks thought as she shoved him out of the way to get to the spice rack. Trunks gave up and went to sit next to his grandfather, in an attempt to ignore the woman across the room.

"So, um…King of Hel, huh?" the blue-eyed Sayajin asked, leaning his elbows on the table.

"Eh, it was fun at first," Vegeta shrugged, "But its always the same fools, over and over again, coming to fight. I stayed mostly because the Queen lets you dreamwalk." Trunks' levegave his grandfather a confused look; the older man sighed and explained. "Hel is the Queen of the Underworld. She crowns one mortal man as her King – its basically a glorified guard. You keep the souls of the Nine Circles of Niflhiem from attempting to climb Yggdrasil. The Tree of Life," Vageta waved away the elaboration. "Hel lets her King walk the dreams of the living as a reward – how else was I supposed to keep an eye on the brat? The half-rotted bitch doesn't care how you use the gift."

"Half-rotted?" Trunks asked, quirking one eyebrow in an unconscious mirror image of the man sitting next to him.

"Hel is a half beautiful young woman, and a half rotted corpse." Nappa rumbled.

Trunks nodded, then leaned back as Cabbage set a full plate down in front of him. She set plates down in front of her father and king, then seated herself with her own plate. Trunks ate slowly, watching his guests inhale their food.

"This is good," Trunks told Cabbage – he'd meant it to be polite, but the way she froze and looked at him with startled black eyes made him wonder if he'd said something offensive on accident. She stood, taking her plate with her, and walked outside without any explanation.

"What'd I say?" Trunks asked.

"Never compliment a Sayajin woman's cooking unless you're looking to bond with her." Nappa warned, not looking up from his food.

"Oh," Trunks blushed hard, and his grandfather chuckled to hide the pang he'd felt at such a display of humanity. "Um…she seems pretty disgusted with men. And affection." Trunks didn't quite ask.

"You would be, too, if you were raped and beaten to death by the Ginyu Force for being the only surviving female Sayajin." Nappa's face was deadpan as he spoke, before a sudden, savage grin broke over his features. "She got her revenge, though."

Trunks didn't press the issue, mostly because Nappa struck him as the kind of man that only did two things well, and violence was definitely one of them. Trunks saved some of the meal for his father to eat later, and did the dishes while his grandfather and Nappa talked about when Hel might come looking for them; Cabbage still hadn't come in, so Trunks showed the two older men up to guestrooms and let them get settled in for the night. His parents room was lit, but the door was closed, so he went outside to look for her.

He found her on the roof, stretched out lazily, her tail uncurled and swaying gently. She bolted upright and snarled at him as soon as he landed next to her, baring all of her teeth. He held his hands up, palms out in a gesture of peace; she stopped snarling, but her tail was still thrashing angrily behind her, puffed out to twice its normal size.

"There's a room for you, when you're ready to come in," Trunks told her, standing carefully still.

"Yours?" She asked, one eyebrow quirking. Trunks blushed again.

"No," he kept his voice flat, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything, earlier. I just meant to be polite." He watched her, wondering if it'd even matter to her. She laughed low in her throat, dark and guttural – obviously not.

"You grew up soft, little prince," she told him, before she rushed him. It was a good attack, and the booted foot she slammed into the side of his head was strong.

Trunks had seen his father's first attack on Perfect Cell, and had known how Vegeta felt, because he'd been in the same situation with the androids countless times. Now, for the first time, he understood how Gero's creations had felt, as his head barely moved from the blow.

"Not that soft," Trunks told her, his blue eyes gone cold with the fight. He knocked her foot away, not enough to put her off balance, but she snarled again, and rushed him; he took a step back, lost his footing, and dropped lightly onto the balcony below him. She dropped on top of him, punching and kicking, and struggled all the harder when put her in a full Nelson with ease. Trunks looked up in surprise as his father slid the glass door open, buttoning the pink Badman shirt he'd fought Freeza in. It was patched and bloodstained, but one of the few things his mother had to hang onto after Vegeta's death, and probably the only clean clothes Vegeta had.

"Hi," Trunks said awkwardly, trying to keep the struggling woman in his arms from hitting him.

"Bite the back of her neck," Vegeta suggested, leaning against the frame of the door as he crossed his arms. Something about the way he was smirking, and the way Cabbage froze in his arms, made Trunks narrow his eyes suspiciously.

"Why?"

"It's a sign of dominance. Its also an answer to her offer." Vegeta grinned, not the savage grin he favored so much, but more of a leering twist of lips and less fang.

"What? What offer?" Trunks asked, and balked a little at the disgusted sighs from both full-blooded Sayajin.

"Why would a loyal member of the Royal Guard attack a crown prince?" Vegeta asked in the tone of voice a parent uses when they think their child is being particularly stupid. Vegeta sighed again at his son's helpless shrug, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just bite her, brat, and stop asking questions. Just don't-"

The warning came too late; Trunks sank his teeth into the back of her neck. She stiffened, mewled, and went limp. Trunks let her go, startled at the noise and the scent suddenly coming off of her; she straightened, gave both of them a dirty look, and pushed past Vegeta and into the house. Trunks caught himself licking the blood off of his mouth, and fidgeted awkwardly under his father's glare.

"The courting process is relatively simple for a Sayajin," Vegeta started. "The male exhibits interest, the female attacks, dominance is established, and then you fuck. Any neck bite is considered a show of dominance, and when its sexual, it's a claim. Breaking the skin," Vegeta paused and looked at his son seriously, "Opens the mind for a bond. True bonds are rare," Vegeta rubbed his neck absently, looking into the middle distance for a moment, and when his hand lowered Trunks saw the faded teeth marks between his neck and shoulder. "Be careful you don't lose yourself in it," Vegeta warned, turning sharply to go into the house.

"You have a true bond with Mom," Trunks made it a statement instead of a question, since it was more likely to get a reaction. Vegeta paused for so long Trunks didn't think he'd answer.

"I came back, didn't I?" Vegeta snorted softly without turning around, and continued into the house.

Trunks ran his tongue over his teeth, the taste of blood lingering, and followed after his father.

"What if I don't want her?" he asked to Vegeta's still retreating back. The older man turned, one eyebrow raised incredulously.

"Is she ugly?"

"No."

"Is she weak?"

"No."

"Is there someone else?"

"No."

Vegeta sighed again. "Let me put it this way. She's the last female Sayajin alive, you're the crown prince, your mother wants grandchildren, your grandfather will castrate you if you choose anyone else, and I owe Nappa restitution. Besides, you only need to produce a male hier, and then you can do whoever the hell you want."

"I think she's only willing because of the whole prince thing, though," Trunks fidgeted again, knowing his father was going to wince at how human he was being. A year with a variation of the man had taught him to read his father well.

"Willing?" Vegeta cocked his head in confusion, before understanding dawned. "What, her death? Brat," Vegeta smirked, his eyes gleaming the way they did when he talked about violence, "Pray you never see what she did to the Ginyu Force when she found them in Hell. Eternity is a long time to spend eating your own cock." Vegeta turned away again, effectively ending the conversation.

This Vegeta, Trunks decided, might have been the man he'd known, once upon a time. No more; this Vegeta had died for something he'd truly loved, and fought his way across hell to get back to it. He could feel his father's energy in the kitchen, rooting around for something to eat; Trunks turned to go to his own room. When he got there, the light was on in the bathroom, the shower was running, and the door was open; Trunks moved into the room enough to peek inside the bathroom. Armor, bodysuit, boots, and gloves were strewn all across the floor. Trunks jerked back out into the hallway, debated silently, and walked back out onto the balcony. He jumped to the ground, wandered over to his favorite tree, climbed up, and settled in for the night.

Still not a particularly literally minded person, Trunks didn't assume that avoiding a relatively small problem for a few hours would make it multiply.

* * *

A/N: Working three jobs is detrimental to one's creative juices. I'm actually really happy with this chapter though - hope y'all enjoy it.


	3. Reunions Part 2

Goku was many things – strong, loyal, caring…strong…but for some inexplicable reason, the very idea of subtlety was something that completely eluded his mental grasp.

"I'm home!" Goku called as he barged in through the kitchen door. Chi Chi had been hefting a cauldron – the cast iron clattered noisily to the floor, denting and cracking the already worn linoleum. She stood dumbfounded for a long moment, as Goku stood cheerfully in the doorway. "Sorry it took so long, Chi Chi, but we had to fight across the Nine Circles of Hell in order to climb the Tree of Life, except we had to fight Vegeta's dad first, but then he decided to come with us, and my dad decided to come too, this is him," Goku stepped further into the room, dragging his father behind him, "His name's Bardock, and you remember my brother Raditz? He came too, he's sorry about trying to kill everyone, and Piccolo's here too," Goku caught Chi Chi deftly as she launched herself at him, stopping his chatter to breath her in for a long moment. A thought struck him, and he pulled away to look at his wife's tearstained face. "So should I go catch some fish for dinner?"

Chi Chi laughed until she was sobbing, then abruptly pulled herself together. "Will it just be the five of us?" she asked as she wiped her reddened face.

"Gohan said he had to go pick someone up," Goku answered, looking proud of himself for having remembered.

"Well, then, off you go. Bring back at least two of the big ones," Chi Chi told him. As soon as the recently dead warriors had lifted off of her lawn, she burst into tears again. She only let it take a few minutes of her time, before she pulled herself together and started cooking. Cooking, she knew how to do. Goku running off and coming back and running off, she wasn't sure she could deal with any more.

~*~*~*~*~*~

There was no set place for Gohan to know where she would be; he simply knew where she was, and made a beeline for her. She was fumbling with the keys to the house she was standing in front of, trying to juggle the four year old girl and two bags of groceries.

"Videl," Gohan landed as he said her name; she froze, turned slowly, and dropped the groceries and keys.

"Gohan?" she took a tentative step closer, noticed his arms, and froze again, suddenly suspicious.

"Its me," Gohan grinned and held his arms out, "An old family friend owed me a favor. Speaking of family," Gohan's grin widened, if it were possible, "Do you want to come to dinner and meet my family? The rest of it, I mean," Gohan looked at the little girl, half hidden behind her mother's leg. "Or spending the rest of our natural lives together? I never got a chance to ask you that, before," Gohan, unlike his father, understood subtlety; he just chose to ignore it.

Videl came to him slowly, tentatively. She kissed him fiercely, then pulled back abruptly to look him in the eye and gauge his reaction. Whatever she found there, made her believe. And unlike Bulma or Chi Chi, who had had decades to fantasize about falling back into their loved one's arms, as well as all their children grown, Videl turned to the child still on the porch and said, "Pan, I want you to come meet your daddy." Pan ran, leapt, and toppled her father. Gohan pulled Vidle down with them, and held his girls tightly, until respatory fucntions became necessary.

"C'mon, I'll help you get this mess cleaned up, and then we'll go meet my parents." Gohan started to scoop the ruined groceries into the shredded bags, but paused and looked up at the suspicious change in Videl's tone.

"You said your father died of a heart virus when you were eleven," she glared at him.

"Um, he did. I was kind of dead, too," Gohan admitted, looking into her icy blue eyes. "But King Kai gave me a ride, to meet my dad – he'd already fought his way across hell, with some of his old friends, who died when the androids first came. We climbed the Tree of Life," Gohan explained. "And I came looking for you." His point driven home, something that Videl would come to understand as well as Chi Chi had, Gohan turned back to the task at hand - he threw out the rest of the ruined food, scooped up his family, and took them to the only place he'd ever called home.

When he set them down in front of the Son residence, Videl hadn't been expecting such a hardened bunch of warriors. The androids had left hard people in their wake, true, but the men quirking their eyebrows at her weren't men who'd been through just the androids. It would take her time to understand Bardock, Raditz, and Piccolo just as individuals, and not just their relationship to Gohan; for the moment, she bowed politely as Gohan introduced her, and then politely introduced their daughter.

"Hey, Gohan!" Videl turned with Gohan to greet the man approaching. Dripping wet, bare-chested, with two enormous fish slung over one shoulder.

"Hey, Dad!" Gohan returned enthusiastically. "This is Videl, and our daughter, Pan!" Gohan held up his daughter, and Goku dropped the fish to take her, something seriously close to wonder overtaking the legendary hero's face.

"Wow! I'm a _grandpa_! _I'm your grandpa_!" Goku boggled, tossing her gently into the air as she laughed. "Do you want to meet your grandma?" Goku asked her; the little girl nodded timidly, and followed Goku into the house. Gohan and Videl followed more sedately, holding hands as they went.

"Is it just me," Bardock, narrowed his eyes at the retreating couple, "But does the bitch look and awful lot like the dame?"

"Definitely," Raditz agreed, "But right now, lets get those fish gutted before little brother remembers he forgot them." Raditz started for the food, knowing from just four years of climbing what his brother could be like, despite their history.

Father and son gutted the fish quickly and efficiently, then brought them in for Chi Chi to cook. The older woman was still entranced in her granddaughter, even though Videl had been wrangled into setting the table. Chi Chi took the fish though, leaving her new-found treasure to Goku and Gohan. Piccolo hovered near them, watching from a distance, but it wasn't long before all four Sayajin were hovering around the child cautiously, and even Piccolo wandered close enough to growl at her when she tugged on his gi. With the backs of both mother and grandmother turned, Pan learned how to throw her first real punch, looking for approval in the new faces around her.

Dinner commenced, in as loud and clamorous a fashion as was possible for the Sons, before spilling out onto the back lawn for some supposedly light sparing matches. It didn't really end, either, even after Gohan had dragged Videl off to his old bedroom, and Chi Chi had hinted strongly that she and Goku should do the same. Hinting strongly, however, was defined by Chi Chi as being one step short of a frying pan to the skull. She knew better than to even hope that Goku could wrap his mind even partially around subtlety for more than a few moments.

Bardock, Raditz, and Piccolo quirked their eyebrows at the retreating couples, but turned diligently back to the child under their care. Pan corrected her stance under their debating influence, her face deadly serious.

"Is it just me," Raditz asked his father, "Or are we going soft?"

"Its what makes you stronger," Piccolo interjected. "You'll fight ten times as hard to protect this little mud ball than you'll fight for anything else."

Both Sayajin stared at the Namek for a long moment, until Pan riveted their attention again.

"I'm gonna be the strongest warrior ever!" She declared.

It was cute when she was four; they didn't know then, how much she meant it.

* * *

A/N: Yayness for being done! Just with the chapter, not with the story. As soon as I get the next chapter out, you'll see where this is going.:) Hunky-dory...


	4. Best laid plans

Trunks was lured into the kitchen by the smell of frying bacon, not terribly worried about the state he'd find his guests in. He should have been.

Bulma was naturally an early riser, which seemed to compliment the training regime of any Sayajin – she'd rummaged in old boxes, dug through the drawers of rooms not used in twenty years, and found clothes for every one. Nappa had squeezed into the remnants of an old security uniform, and the King of Hel was sniffing suspiciously at a cup of coffee and wearing clothes that hadn't fit Trunks since he was sixteen. Bulma had found, heaven knew where, a pair of white jeans and a turquoise tube top that Cabbage had squeezed in to. One leg was ripped off just below the juncture of thigh and buttock, leaving one long, heavily muscled leg bare, and no curve unaccentuated. Trunks ripped his attention away from her and focused on his grandfather.

"Here," he took the cup of coffee, added cream and sugar, and handed the cup back. "It tastes better this way." The king took a careful sip, scowled, and added three more spoonfuls of sugar.

"There's my boy!" Bulma burst into the kitchen, a box tucked under one arm and her hair pulled up. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to! I hope you don't mind, but I lent your father and grandfather some of your old clothes, since that was what was most likely going to fit. And look what I found for Cabbage, I used to wear that exact outfit when I was hunting Dragon Balls with Goku!" Bulma set the box down on the table and started loading the contents of the pantry into it, "We can go shopping in a few days, the markets almost completely rebuilt now. Eat something, honey, and take the edge off your appetite so that Chi Chi doesn't have to cook too much."

Trunks went to the stove, carefully avoiding eye contact with Cabbage as he reached for a plate. The smell of frying bacon had covered the other smells of the room, but standing this close to her, Trunks froze. She was marinated in his scent – she'd slept in his bed, reeking pheromones and arousal, then put on clothes that still lingered with his mother's perfume, and started to cook his favorite food. It made his head reel, just a little.

"This one's yours," Cabbage handed him a plate already laden with bacon and eggs, and Trunks could have sworn her smile was more of an evil smirk. He took the food, though, and sat down at the table with his back to her.

Vegeta came in, quirked an eyebrow at the look on his son's face, and went straight for the food. He got one good whiff of the Sayajin woman, and turned to look at his father and Nappa, leaning on opposite counters and watching the scene unfold in front of them. The three Sayajin men chuckled darkly, progressing to outright laughter as Trunks blushed hard and stabbed angrily at his food. Bulma cocked her head, watching carefully. She couldn't smell what was going on, but she could read her mate's dark amusement, her son's embarrassment, and the carefully blank expression on the only other woman in the room.

"We should get over to the Son house in just a few minutes," Bulma cut through the situation, successfully diffusing it. "Chi Chi will already have the meat going by now, and we cant leave her to cook for nine Sayajin all by herself, now can we?" Bulma threw the last of the rice into the box, and closed it. "Trunks, will you drive? My eyes aren't what they used to be."

Trunks took the keys silently, and in his embarrassment, didn't catch the darkening expression on his father's face, or the expectant look his grandfather shot the older prince.

Trunks landed his mothers red air car in Goku's front lawn, and stared at the sight of four burly Sayajin men trying to heard a little girl waving a sword away from a terrified mailman.

"Gohan?" Trunks called out, one lavender eyebrow quirked as he approached the scene.

"Hey, Trunks!" Gohan sounded hectic, as he caught the child around the waist and held on tightly as Raditz pried the sword away from the giggling, squirming little girl.

"Who is this?" Trunks stared at her, both eyebrows raised now.

"My daughter, Pan," Gohan hefted her to face Trunks, "Say hello to daddy's friend, honey."

"Hi," Pan waved shyly, then leaned forward with sudden interest. "Are you a warrior like my daddy, an' my granpa, an' my n'uncle, an' my great grampa?"

"Um…yeah, I am," Trunks smiled at her, a little unsure.

"I'm gonna be a warrior, too," Pan told him, completely serious.

Gohan laughed, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "Well, anyway, Mom's got some snacks set up inside." The youngest male Son led them inside, still carrying his errant daughter.

"Rings and moon," Bardock jerked as Cabbage came near him; he looked back at her father and the other approaching royalty, then at the door Trunks had disappeared through, and chuckled darkly with them as they went inside.

A plate shattered in the kitchen, drawing their attention to where Cabbage and Raditz stood nose to nose, snarling with their teeth bared.

"Hey, calm down!" Trunks shoved them apart, standing between them with his hands on their shoulders to keep them at bay. As soon as he stepped close enough for Raditz to smell him over the smells coming from the stove, Raditz dropped his hackles and stepped back. Trunks looked confused, and turned to the closest person for an answer; Cabbage just smirked and walked away. By the time he turned to look for an explanation elsewhere, all the other Sayajin had descended on the food, and his mother only shrugged helplessly at him. He shrugged it off and helped himself to the food as well, and ended up following Gohan back out onto the front lawn, where Raditz was standing with his arms crossed and tail swishing moodily behind him.

"Hey," Gohan half-smiled at his uncle, "Have you seen my little terror?"

"Yeah, she ran off that way, but little brother was chasing her," Raditz pointed towards the river, "She wont lose any limbs. Probably." Raditz shrugged. "How much trouble can that kid get into?"

"She was chasing the mailman with a sword!" Gohan protested.

"She's catching on early," Raditz waved it away, unconcerned.

"To what?! She's _four_!" Gohan half-wailed.

"Gohan," Raditz sighed, "She's the first female Sayajin to be born in over forty years, and you expect her to be as docile as your mother or your mate, or less than a warrior?"

"I don't expect her to be docile, and she can be whatever she wants to be!" Gohan protested, crossing his arms.

"Then train her," Raditz challenged, and Gohan huffed angrily and stalked back into the house. Trunks stood awkwardly on the grass, looking a little lost.

"Um…" he tried to start, fidgeting uselessly.

"I swore blood vengeance on her," Raditz explained.

"What?" Trunks didn't bother to hide his startled expression, and probably didn't know how to in the first place.

"I was in the Academy with her brother. We were comrades." The way Raditz said it, it sounded like he'd said 'best friends.' "Laittu wanted to bond with a girl that he didn't have enough social standing for, so he was going to challenge his father for right of blood into the Court."

"Right of blood?" Trunks asked.

"If a son wishes to have his father's profession, the son is allowed to challenge his father and take his place, but one of them has to die. Usually its best to wait until the old man is ready to give it up, but Laittu never had much patience. Its usually only reserved for positions close to the crown. But anyway, Cabbage stepped in at the last moment, and shot Laittu in the back, just as he was about to kill Nappa. I swore blood vengeance, Nappa packed me off on a deep space mission as soon as he was out of the regen tank, and a week later, Vegetasie was dust and Cabbage was a lump of cooling meat. It never mattered when we were in Niflhiem, because what good is a blood vengeance when you're already dead?"

"You came back just to kill her?" Trunks raised on incredulous eyebrow.

"Hell, no," Raditz scoffed. "I came back because I wanted a second chance to get to know my brother and my nephew." He looked wistfully towards the river. "Blood means everything to me."

"So she killed her brother to save her father, who protected her, and then she was raped and beaten to death by the Ginyu Force, and now you're trying to kill her for something that happened over forty years ago?" Trunks folded his arms and cocked his head to one side, still looking appalled and incredulous.

Raditz didn't answer; he was staring just over Trunks' shoulder. The young man turned, and came face to face with Bardock, who was dividing his attention between glaring at his oldest son and sniffing suspiciously at an open bottle of beer.

"Watch your mouth, brat. You know damn well she could take you with her. That, and this is Nappa's restitution." Bardock took a careful sip from the bottle, decided he liked it, and took another.

"Wait," Trunks latched onto the familiar term, "Dad killed Nappa, so he owes him restitution, is that it?" Bardock nodded. "But Goku killed you." Trunks let the question hang in the air as he turned back to Raditz.

"Its different. We killed each other, and we're blood, so there's no need for restitution. Piccolo doesn't give a shit, anyway, so everyone's settled."

"Hey, look at what I caught down by the river!" Goku came trotting up, holding his granddaughter aloft.

"How'd she get the sword back?" Bardock chuckled.

"This was my Daddy's sword!" Pan declared. "Mr. Piccolo gave it to him when he started training, an' he said I could have it!"

"Your daddy said you could have it, or Mr. Piccolo said you could have it?" Raditz asked.

"Mr. Piccolo," Pan clarified, waving the sword happily, and dangerously close to Trunks.

"Ah," Bardock took another sip of beer and chuckled darkly.

"She says she's ready to start training!" Goku told Trunks proudly.

"She's very articulate," Trunks commented, staring at the manic little girl with both eyebrows raised.

"Isn't she?" Videl said proudly as she came outside, only catching the tail end of the conversation, and missing the slight of hand Raditz used to take the sword away from his niece again. "I'm Videl, by the way, and you must be Trunks."

"Its nice to meet you," Trunks bowed politely. "Gohan never said much about you, so I never knew to tell you when he'd died." He told her solemnly.

"You Sayajin are blunt, aren't you? You probably wouldn't have been able to find me anyway," Videl smiled tightly. "Don't worry about it, in any case. Consider all debts cleared, if you'll come to the wedding tomorrow." Her smile softened with the invitation, but it still floored Trunks.

"Wedding? Tomorrow?" Trunks asked, as soon as he'd picked his jaw up off of the ground.

"Yeah, we're getting married tomorrow," Gohan said as he came up behind Videl. "Piccolo is presiding, since he used to be Kami, but I still need a best man," Gohan raised his eyebrows at Trunks, leaving the invitation open.

"I'd be honored," Trunks grinned, still flustered.

"Great," Gohan clapped him on the shoulder affectionately. "Mom says there are more snacks, and that our king should get a move on with his little meeting."

"Meeting? What meeting?" Trunks asked as he followed his sensei into the house. He didn't get an answer before they were all back out on the lawn again, standing in a rough circle.

"Down to business," King Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, "Hel will come looking for us soon, and while we have the opportunity, we need to repopulate the Sayajin race."

"Exactly how do you plan to do that?" Trunks asked suspiciously, crossing arms over his chest in an unconscious mirror of his grandfather.

"Those without mates will find females to copulate with," King Vegeta clarified, looking annoyed at the interruption.

"What are you going to do, kidnap women?" Trunks plowed on, uncaring.

"Does it look like I care?" his grandfather asked, looking more irate.

"You cant do that!" Trunks snarled. "There are gangs running loose, warring with each other and killing innocents, and you want to terrorize the population some more? It _barely_ survived the androids!"

"Do you expect me to just let my people die out, _again_, for your soft-hearted concerns?"

Trunks paused, caught in the trap. "I expect you," he let his aura glow gold, not quite transforming, "to respect both of my people, and the planet you happen to be inhabiting at the moment." Respectful, with the power behind the words to back the implied threat.

King Vegeta smirked, apparently satisfied with the verbal block. "Then what do you propose?" he asked, just as Trunks thought he was in the clear.

"As long as you're here, you call this planet home," Trunks chose his words carefully. "Any human woman is someone's mother, sister, daughter, or friend, and she shares this home with you. We're the strongest people on the planet, therefore we're responsible for protecting it."

"Exactly," Goku agreed, smiling at his son's pupil. Trunks caught Cabbage's faint smile, and did something his grandfather never would have done.

"What do you think, Cabbage?"

She looked stunned for a long moment, before she shifted hesitantly.

"I think we don't have time to do it your way," Cabbage shrugged a little helplessly. "But if there's one thing dying has taught me, its that you need to spend your time well."

"She's right," Prince Vegeta turned to his father. "I'd rather let Bulma age and die a natural death than wish her back to a fertile age for a maybe child, when we might all be gone tomorrow."

"It serves no purpose!" the king snarled.

"You shouldn't worry so much," Goku interjected. "Everything will turn out okay, you'll see."

Everyone stared at him for a long moment.

"I still cant decide if you're retarded or not," the king sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Anyway," Gohan broke in, "the wedding is tomorrow at two, and Videl said they had the food covered."

"Marriage isn't a food!" Goku protested, looking alarmed.

"Its some kind of bonding ceremony, right?" Cabage asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Dinner!" Chi Chi yelled from the kitchen, and the Sons ran for the door. Nappa and the Vegeta's followed more sedately, but with no less interest; Trunks took up the rear, but paused as Cabbage caught his wrist.

She took a breath to say something, changed her mind, and bit her lip in indecision. Her grip tightened on his wrist for a moment, before she stepped in close and pressed her mouth to his. Trunks cupped the back of her neck in an automatic response, sliding his fingers into her hair; his fingers slid across the scabs of the teeth marks he'd left there the night before. She pulled back abruptly, looking a little exposed and flustered, and scuttled around him and into the house. Trunks let her go, licking his lip thoughtfully, and followed her in. He sat near her at the table, and watched her inhale her food; she paused to make snide remarks to Bardock and Nappa, egged Raditz on a little, ordered Gohan to pass the chicken, called Goku an idiot with only a little affection, and eyed Piccolo suspiciously. She was shy with the other women, though, watching them fret and mother their men and children. She watched Pan especially, eyeing the child warily.

"So you'll need something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue," Bulma said to Videl, leaning on the table with her eyes twinkling.

"Chi Chi's giving me her wedding dress," Videl blushes happily, "And I was going to pick some of the blue flowers along the driveway."

"Would you like to borrow my mother's diamonds? You cant wear pearls on your wedding day, that's bad luck." Bulma asked seriously.

Videl looked like she was about to cry, and simply nodded.

"Piccolo's making the rings, too," Gohan said, spooning more rice onto his plate.

"And my friend Ellysse is going to be my maid of honor. I called her this morning," Videl was almost glowing.

"Just something new, then." Cabbage stated the question rather than ask it.

"Yeah, pretty much," Gohan said.

"I'll take care of it." Cabbage refused to elaborate, stuffing her mouth full of chicken.

"I get to be the flower girl!" Pan said, carefully smearing sauce on the red dress her mother had wrestled her into.

When it was time to pack up and leave, Trunks dutifully drove his mother home while the others flew guard around the air car, but hung back on the lawn of Capsule Corp., and caught Cabbage's wrist as she made to go inside.

"I know what my father and grandfather are trying to do," Trunks told her. "But I want you to know that you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

She laughed, low and guttural, and kissed him again. He reached for the back of her neck, fingering the healing scabs as she wrapped her tail around his waist and molded herself to him.

Trunks fell asleep in his won bed that night, curled over her warm body and pleasantly satiated as she ran her fingers through his hair and truly feared, for the first time in her existence, what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

A/N: I have the next two chapters planned out but not written. Basically, all I do is work right now, so its hard to pump these puppies out so quick. Let me know what you think.


	5. Wedding

"There they are!" Chi Chi waved at the descending air car and its honor guard, as Trunks parked carefully on the front lawn.

The Son matron had set up chairs on the front lawn, a platform had manifested itself, and there was a long table set off to one side with a decent sized cake and champagne ready. Bulma climbed out of the car and hugged Chi Chi before going into the house, Cabbage in tow, leaving Chi Chi to guard the food against the bottomless stomachs of eight Sayajin men. They found Videl in Gohan's old room, fidgeting nervously in her wedding dress. Ellysse sat on the bed, tying off bouquets with some white ribbon, while Pan stared down disgustedly at the white frilly dress she'd been wrestled into.

"Bulma!" Videl turned, smiling hugely as the other woman came into the room.

"There's the woman of the hour!" Bulma brandished an antique jewelry box. "Lets get you gorgeous!" Bulma draped her mother's diamonds on the younger woman, then sat her down to do her hair. Cabbage stepped forward, proffering her fist.

"Something new." She let the thing dangle; it was a piece of bark hanging from a leather chord. "It's a piece of bark from the Tree of Life. It came loose, and I almost fell, but Gohan caught me. I thought you should have it." Cabbage stepped back in case Videl decided to hug her, as the younger woman took the gift wonderingly.

"Thank you, Cabbage," Videl smiled up at the other woman, almost on the verge of tears.

"Oh, Bulma, she's going to look so wonderful when you're done with her!" Ellysse gushed, getting up from the bed and moving toward the bride.

Pan slipped off the bed and sidled over to Cabbage, who'd taken refuge in leaning against the door jam. The little girl glared up at the Sayajin woman, and asked belligerently, "How come you get to wear fighting clothes?"

"It's a Sayajin tradition to honor a comrade, by being prepared to fight at his side." Cabbage told her, arms crossed over her recently polished armor.

"When do I get fighting clothes?" Pan asked, crossing her won arms over her little chest to mimic Cabbage.

"Pan," Videl snapped from in front of the mirror, "That's enough. Go help your grandmother."

"I take it you don't want her to be trained," Cabbage asked.

"Not at all!" Videl almost snarled. "But its not like the men are listening to me. She's a little girl! There's nothing wrong with self-defense, don't get me wrong, but ever since everyone came back, she's gotten it into her head to be some kind of warrior."

Cabbage just raised one eyebrow and kept her mouth shut.

When everyone was ready, they took up their stations on the front lawn, taking their seats after Goku had handed off the bride.

"We're all here to see these to get hitched," Piccolo started, glaring from the little platform. "Son Gohan, do you take Videl to be your wife?"

"I do," Gohan took the ring Trunks proffered, slipping the plain metal band over Videl's finger.

"And do you, Videl Satan, take Gohan to be your husband?"

"I do," She took the ring Ellysse proffered, and slipped it over Gohan's gnarled knuckles.

"Alright, hurry up and kiss the bride, 'cause Hel's here, and you know how impatient goddesses can be." Black, oily smoke drifted up the aisle, and Hel stepped out of it, black lace billowing around her as the smoke cleared.

"Alive for only a few days, and already making long term commitments?" Hel leered, tossing her long blond hair out of her face. The rotted flesh and swiveling eye of the left side of her face came into view, and she laughed as they drew away. "Tell you what, since I'm such a generous goddess, I'll make you a deal," the left side of her face crinkled unpleasantly as she grinned, lush red lips pulling away from perfect teeth on the right side. "If anyone here can land a blow that would kill a mortal man, I'll leave you all in peace. Faithful service for forty years deserves such a gift, doesn't it, little king?" Her former king snarled wordlessly, fists clenching. "But if you fail, I take ten of you back to Niflhiem." Her blue eyes glowed red, "It takes nine to climb, one for each circle; and you loyal Sayajin never leave your own behind." She spread her arms wide, skeletal and fleshy fingers crackling with red energy.

Bulma didn't wait for the fight to start; she grabbed Chi Chi's wrist and tugged, then sprinted for Videl and Ellysse. Chi Chi scooped up her granddaughter, caught her daughter in law by the arm, and hauled ass across the lawn to the fringe of the woods. Bulma caught Ellysse's wrist, and led the mad dash for cover.

Nappa and Bardock circled and rushed the goddess from opposite sides, leaving King Vegeta an open shot, if the attack had been successful. She knocked all three men away, and shot Raditz out of the sky as he tried to come in on a sneak attack. She batted Piccolo away with just as much ease, and even Goku and Vegeta double-teaming her as Super Sayajin occupied her for only a volley of blows. Trunks and Gohan rushed in as their fathers were knocked aside, having used the extra time to power up completely. Hel let them in close, before she blasted them both in the chest with bolts of red energy, sending them flying back so hard they left trenches in the ground with their bodies. Hel stood with her arms outstretched, red energy crackling from her fingertips as the men picked themselves up and formed a rough circle around her.

"What's the matter, Cabbage? I thought you didn't like your men doing your fighting for you," the goddess taunted; the Sayajin woman crouched low, feet spread and planted, her fists up. Hel laughed, and tossed an energy bolt at her, expecting the bolt to knock the mortal woman back.

Cabbage caught the blast and flung it back – Hel batted her own attack aside, her single gold eyebrow raising is surprise. The eye in her rotted socket swiveled madly as she studied the woman facing her.

"My, my, my…you lot certainly _have_ been busy. A wedding and a baby, all in two days? I never pictured you as the mothering type, Cabbage." Hel cocked her head to one side, and smiled cruelly. "After the deal you made, I thought you'd never touch a man again. I guess you're nothing but a little _slut_ after all."

"Evil fucking cunt," Cabbage snarled, grinding her teeth. She rushed in, landing three solid hits in rapid succession. Goddess and mortal tumbled into a flurry of blows and counter strikes, blocks and evasions, black lace flashing over polished armor.

"Form a circle," King Vegeta ordered from the sidelines. "Keep the bitch's power pinned in one place, and give our girl a chance." He held his arms out, clasping wrists with his son and Piccolo. The other men stepped in, throwing back their heads and screaming with the rush of energy as they all powered up at the same time.

Cabbage flung the goddess back, slamming her into the space just above and between Trunks and Raditz; Hel was smashed violently back into the center of the circle.

"I'm impressed," Hel picked herself up out of the dirt. "Here I've spent eons fighting other gods, and all I needed to do was let one measly mortal slip free." Cabbage interrupted her with a fist to the half rotted mouth, but Hel kept right on going. "You're a half-rotted corpse, and a beautiful young woman," Hel blocked the next flurry of blows, her leer setting firmly on her rotting mouth. "And now you're carrying life at the center of your very being." The goddess laughed, and caught her opponent by the throat. "Too bad I know where the weak link is, girl – I invented the circle!" She threw Cabbage with her whole body, sending the Sayajin woman straight into Trunks; they dug long furrows in the ground as they came to a halt, and the broken ring of power flung all of the others back as well. Trunks pushed himself to his feet, glaring and snarling with rage, then threw his head back and screamed.

~*~*~*~

Back in the forest, Videl collapsed to her knees in tears.

"I thought we'd have more time!" she wailed. Chi Chi set her granddaughter down to wrap her arms around her new daughter in law.

"Just calm down Videl, there's nothing we can do right now," Chi Chi said, the desperation in her voice poorly masked.

"Can, too!" Pan declared, and took off running, back the way they'd come.

"Pan, no!" Bulma dove for the little girl, and landed heavily in the dirt. Videl screamed, lurched to her feet, hoisted her skirts up, and took off after her daughter, with Bulma, Ellysse, and Chi Chi on her heels.

Pan knew her Uncle Raditz had hidden her sword in the wood pile, knew the bad lady was going to take all her new friends away, but most of all, she knew she was only going to have one chance to prove herself.

~*~*~*~

Trunks lowered his head, smirking through the crackling blue lightening shooting through his gold aura. He hadn't cut his hair since he'd come back from the past, and his hair stood straight up in stiff spikes so that he was almost the mirror image of his father. He launched himself at the goddess of the Underworld without any warning, leaping into a flurry of blows and kicks that would have felled a mortal opponent. Hel appeared to concentrate, focusing on her opponent instead of toying with him; she was still obviously not outmatched, but she looked wary.

Nappa was the only one looking at the house, glancing over his shoulder for a split second, and he was the only one who saw the little girl charging, sword held low and to the side, the way she'd been shown only a few hours ago. Nappa did the one thing he'd known had worked for his own daughter – he cupped his hands low in front of him in a scoop, kneeling on one knee as the four-year-old came toward him. She stepped perfectly into his palms, as Trunks took an energy bolt to the chest and went down screaming. Nappa hurled her through the air, sailing straight toward Hel, who turned just in time to catch the blade in her skull, and toppled with the little girl on top of her. Pan stood, panting and surprised, and jerked her sword free just as her mother closed in.

Hel pulled herself to her feet, wiping at the black rivulets of her blood running into the swiveling eye of her rotted socket.

"Well," she smeared the blood between her thumb and forefinger. "Unconventional, and unprecedented, but alright." She whirled suddenly, grabbing Pan by the front of her frilly white dress and hauling her up to eye level. The goddess pressed her bloody, skeletal thumb into Pan's left eye, then tossed the screaming child into her mother's arms.

"My baby!" Videl shrieked as she caught her daughter, sinking to her knees as the little girl thrashed and screamed in her arms, still holding the sword.

"Every great warrior needs a gift; what better gift than to see another's death?" Hel cackled as the oily black smoke engulfed her, and the sound of her mad laughter echoed for several seconds after the smoke had cleared.

Gohan knelt next to his wife and daughter, prying Pan's hand away from her face. There was no blood; Pan's left eye had become a molten red iris with a slanted goats pupil. As soon as she looked up into her fathers face, red eye open wide, her screaming intensified. Gohan did the only thing of; he knocked his daughter out. The red eye faded back to black as her eyelids lowered, and Gohan slumped in relief as Videl clutched the girl tighter.

"That," Bardock stood over them, arms crossed, "Is final. I call dibs on her first year of training."

"Dibs on second," Raditz raised his hand as he let Ellysse try to haul him to his feet.

"Me third, me third! What are we calling dibs on?" Goku turned from checking on Chi Chi to look at the rest of his family.

"Training Pan," Piccolo rolled his eyes, "And I call dibs on her fourth year."

"_No_ _one_ is going to be training her!" Videl snarled, hunching over her unconscious child.

"Videl, honey, I think training her is the only thing we can do," Gohan touched his wife's arm, speaking softly to her.

"Videl," Chi Chi came forward, kneeling on the marred terrain next to the bride. "I always wanted to keep Gohan from fighting, but you cant protect your children from what they're meant to do." Chi Chi smiled, just a little bitterly. "Besides, who do you think is going to protect this planet when all of our men are gone?"

Videl visibly crumbled, and stared down at her unconscious daughter. Short black hair in wild wisps, one tiny hand still clutching her sword and the other curled up near her mouth, frilly white dress torn and bloodstained beyond saving. Every mother cries when they realize that they can no longer protect their children.

"Congratulations, Cabbage!" Goku clapped the Sayajin woman on the back, grinning widely. "So who's the father?"

"Trunks is, you idiot," Cabbage grunted, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Wow, really? That's really fast, you guys have only known each other for two whole days! Don't worry, though, Trunks, I'll bet you'll be a great daddy!" Goku beamed as he clapped the young man on the shoulder as well, who went pale and smiled wanly. "See, your majesty, I told you everything would turn out okay! Hey, who's that guy?" Goku pointed at the approaching figure, a black-clad man in a black chariot, drawn by a black horse.

"Hades," Cabbage said as they all turned to look, her black eyes widening as she stood frozen. "I still owe him a favor."

"What?!" Trunks whirled on her, incredulous. He was bowled over as the dark figure circled Cabbage, scooping her up and racing toward a black pit suddenly gaping in the ground.

"Brat!" Nappa made a lunge for the chariot, and was knocked back so hard he left another trench in the ground from his own body. The pit closed in on itself as Trunks lunged for it, and the young Sayajin blasted at the earth in a blind, helpless rage. He calmed suddenly, and whirled to face the group.

"Why," his voice was dangerously low, "Does she owe Hades a favor?"

"She made a deal with him, right after the Ginyu Force died." Nappa sat up, ignoring the dirt cascading off of his armor. "Three favors, in exchange for the personal choice of their eternal punishment. She'd only paid back two, when we started climbing." Nappa stood, squaring his shoulders as he turned toward the young prince.

"How do I get her back?" Trunks tilted his head as he looked around the group, the blue crackling through his golden aura in dizzying patterns.

"Beneath the secret places of the Earth," Piccolo said, than grinned, revealing his fangs. "Or you could just ask Kami if you could use his door. He's got a shortcut to Hades palace. Just watch out for the guard dog."

"Lets go." Trunks shot into the air, not waiting for the others to follow, or even keep up.

"I'm coming with you," Videl threw one arm around Gohan's neck just as he made to leap into the air after Trunks, the other arm readjusting her grip on Pan. Gohan didn't over think the situation – neither did Goku, Vegeta, or Raditz, as Bulma, Chi Chi, and Ellysse threw their arms around respective necks, and glared balefully.

No matter thier physical strength, they'd learned the hard way to not ague with their women.

* * *

A/N; Got this out faster than I thought I would...next one is half done. Trust me, the plot has yet to thicken! Its at a nice boil, though...


	6. Tartarus

"Through there?" Trunks asked, one gold eyebrow quirked.

"Yes," Kami nodded.

"Be careful, honey!" Bulma called, waving at her son's back as the young man disappeared into the gaping, black doorway, the gray mist swallowing his frame quickly.

Pan stirred awake in her mother's arms, her small fist curling around the piece of bark that hung from her mother's neck. Her eyes snapped open, the left one glowing a molten red, and caught sight of the lightless portal. It called to her on a level no mortal really understands, and the little girl wrestled free of her mother's grasp and ran after Trunks. Videl ran after her, screaming and slamming her fists against the door as it closed on her daughter's heels.

"Well," Raditz raised an eyebrow and looked at his father as Ellysse gasped and shrank into his side, "At least the kid's got a sword."

"Covered in Hel's blood, no less," Bardock chuckled darkly.

"The bark!" Videl gasped, groping at her neck. "The chord broke when she got away!"

"What bark?" Gohan asked.

"Cabbage gave me a piece of bark from the Tree of Life. She said it broke off when she almost fell, but you caught her, and now Pan must have it!"

"She'll be just fine, then," Piccolo stepped close to the woman, and immediately shrank back as she whirled on him.

"My _baby_," she snarled, "Is lost in Tartarus, and you think she's going to be _just_ _fine_?!"

"Hades cant keep her unless she eats something while she's down there, she's armed, she's protected, and she's the most dangerous kid I've ever met," Piccolo held his hands clamped firmly over his ears as her voice reached a particularly high note, and remained over his ears in anticipation as he calmly explained his reasoning.

"Well, we'll be off, then," King Vegeta turned toward the edge of the tower, motioning to Nappa and Bardock. "Time passes funny, between the realms, and what may take them a few hours there could be a few days out here." The king stepped off the ledge, Nappa and Bardock following obediently. Bardock paused only to wave at the group still standing on the ledge, before he disappeared.

"Bardock, can you read this gibberish?" King Vegeta passed the larger Sayajin a small electronic device, as they sped through the sky.

"Dragon Radar?" Bardock fiddled with the thing for a few moments, before it beeped excitedly in his hands. "It tracks something, and there's one close by. Over that way," Bardock pointed.

"Good," The King of the Sayajin grinned, and followed Bardock's directions.

~*~*~*~

Trunks glared up at the wrought iron gates, then over at the growling, three-headed dog. The animal charged, jaws snapping; Trunks roared at the dog, flashing his aura around him. The dog came to a screeching halt, looking alarmed as six paires of ears flattened against its skulls, before it turned and ran, tail tucked between its legs. Satisfied, Trunks blew the gates off of their hinges and stepped into Tartarus.

A few minutes passed, and Pan came trotting up to the smoldering remains of the gates. She eyed the entrance warily, before she turned to take in her surroundings. Three sets of glowing eyes hovered in the grey mist around her, and Pan stepped toward them curiously.

"Hello?" she called into the mists. The three-headed dog came bounding out of the shadows, looking ferocious again. "PUPPY!" Pan shrieked in delight, as all children do around dogs of any size or age, three-headed or otherwise.

Cerberus, guardian of the gates of the Underworld, had deterred heroes and villains for eons. Now, in the face of a child's stalwart innocence, the mighty beast was brought low with the promise of a belly rub. The child turned at the sound of echoing laughter, her miss-matched eyes wide with surprise. She watched three figures melt out of the mist, or maybe the mist melted away from them; they were seated around a spinning wheel, pulling the thick thread through their hands. Pan wandered away from the dog and toward the mysterious figures, pulled by the faint shimmer of a golden thread leading from her heart to the three grey figures.

"Hello," she bowed politely, eying them carefully.

"What do we have here?" one figure turned to face the little girl, revealing a weathered face underneath the grey hood of her robe. "A living child, lost in Tartarus? Unusual, very unusual…we've been expecting you, Pan."

"Indeed we have, sister. Lets have a look at you, little one," Another grey-clad figure knelt next to the child, her face younger beneath the shadow of the hood. "Hel's blessing in her left eye, and Hel's blood on her father's sword. And what's this?" the young woman took Pan's little fist, uncurling the fingers from around the piece of bark. "A piece of bark from Yggdrasil, freely given to your mother on her wedding day."

"Blessed," the third figure chimed in, turning to reveal the face of a thirteen year old girl beneath the grey hood. "And cursed. I've found her thread." The grey-clad girl held out a piece of string.

"Such foresight, sister," the old crone took the string, and the piece of bark, bringing both together in a complicated knot. "Lets fix this for you, eh? Cant go around loosing such important things, now can you, Son Pan?"

"How'd you know my name?" Pan asked, watching the old woman as the crone bent forward and fastened the string around Pan's neck.

"We are past, present and future, child. We know all that has been, all that is, and all that will be." The grey-clad child smiled eerily from beneath her hood, revealing too many teeth. "And now we bequeath you with your own thread of Destiny, so that you may know it, and follow it willingly, unlike every other great hero before you."

The thread glowed gold as it settled around Pan's neck, before fading back to a grey color.

"Sister," the crone turned to the young woman, "Lead her to the hero come for his true love; he knows her."

"Yes, sister," the young grey-clad woman took Pan by the hand and led her into the grey mists.

~*~*~*~

Trunks stared up at Hades, eying the god of the Underworld warily.

"Another hero. How droll. You lot just don't quit, do you?" the god slouched grumpily in his throne, glaring. "What is it this time – here to talk to your fathers dead spirit? Rescue your dead love?"

"I'm here for Cabbage." Trunks folded his arms over his chest.

"That bitch? Are you crazy?" Hades leaned forward, asking seriously. "She's one of the craziest mortals I've ever met, and believe me, I've met a lot of crazy mortals in my time." Hades grinned suddenly, his blue eyes glowing an electric color. "I just sent her out to capture an escaping soul, as a favor she owes me."

"I heard she owed you three. This is her last one, isn't it?" Trunks cocked his head to one side. "And then she's free."

"Free of me, anyway," Hades shrugged. "I don't know if she owes any favors to any other gods. I'm kind of surprised anyone showed up for her at all. You lover her that much, little hero?"

"I've known her for two days," Trunks shrugged. "And things were a little prearranged."

"You came to Tartarus," Hades leaned forward in his throne again, gaping a little, "Just waltzed into my throne room, demanding the life of a woman you don't love?"

"Love doesn't have shit to do with it," Trunks snarled, hackles raised as the grey mists tried to penetrate his aura. "I came for what's mine, end of story."

Hades threw his head back and laughed. "Good luck telling her that," the god grinned ferraly, electric blue eyes glowing. "Your seed might be a different story, but that girl would rather die, again, than be anyone's property."

Trunks didn't get the chance to answer, as the doors across the great hall were blasted open. Cabbage stepped through the smoking ruins of the door, dragging a struggling white and purple body behind her by the tail.

"That's the third door you've destroyed," Hades sighed as Cabbage came to a stop in front of the throne, standing next to Trunks.

"Freeza returned to your domain, as promised. My debt is cleared." Cabbage threw the body at the gods feet, and turned to Trunks. "What the hell kind of prince charming doesn't show up on a white steed, waving a sword?" She asked, black eyebrows raised.

"What the hell kind of damsel in distress doesn't need rescuing?" Trunks shot back. "We're leaving, now. This place gives me the creeps." Trunks kicked Freeza in the ribs for good measure, then turned to walk back through the door Cabbage had entered from.

"Hi, Miss Cabbage!" Pan came trotting out of the mists, running toward the young Sayajin woman.

"Pan?" Trunks whirled, teal eyes wide. "Gohan's going to kill me," he muttered darkly to himself.

"What on earth is that?" Hades swept off of his throne, and picked Pan up by the back of her frilly white dress.

"Not nice!" Pan yelled, and swung her sword around at the arm holding her captive. The edge of the blade caught Hades on the soft skin of his forearm, and the god dropped her with a snarled curse. His blood dripped on the tiled floor, glistened on the blade; he rubbed the black ichor of his blood between his thumb and forefinger, as he studied the little girl.

"Already touched by Hel," he mused, "To see the deaths of others…now see their sins and vices!" Hades caught the child again, by her sword arm this time, and smeared his blood in her right eye. She fell back screaming, and Trunks and Cabbage rushed to her. Trunks held her arms back, keeping her from trying to touch her eyes; she stopped screaming almost immediately, and stared up at him in silent horror. Her eyes were wide, the left one glowing a molten red, and the right eye a searing, electric blue.

"The pink monster," She told him, "He's gonna kill you, an' my daddy. And you killed the machine monsters that Mommy's scared of. Trunks," she teared up as she stared at him, "How come you're gonna get punished, for killing the monsters?"

"Killing is a bad thing in general," Trunks swallowed hard as he stared down at the little girl, trying hard to hide his own horror. He felt horribly exposed, staring down into those unholy, mismatched eyes.

Pan nodded, closing her eyes tightly, and shuddering hard. When she opened her eyes again, they were the black, natural iris she'd been born with. "I wanna go home now," she told Trunks, just as she slumped in his arms.

"Um…alright," Trunks scooped her up, and stood, turning to look at Cabbage. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cabbage ruffled the girl's hair, then picked up the piece of bark hanging from her neck, and her eyes popped.

"That's probably not a good thing," Cabbage tried to lift the chord over Pan's head; the string glowed gold, and Cabbage jerked her hands back as if she'd been burned.

"Why, what is it?" Trunks asked.

"A thread of Destiny," Hades said from his throne, chuckling darkly. "Looks like your little friend had a run in with the Fates."

"Gohan really is going to kill us," Cabbage rolled her eyes. "Just my luck. Well, c'mon, lets get it over with." Cabbage turned toward the doors, walking steadily, and Trunks followed her, as Hades' dark chuckling turned into wild peels of laughter.

~*~*~*~

King Vegeta stared up at the enormous dragon, and wondered briefly if this was really that good of an idea. The nagging doubt in the back of his mind was crushed, and he spoke to Porunga.

"My wish," the king paused dramatically, "Is that the two human women known as Bulma Briefs, and Son Chi Chi, be made eighteen years old again."

"YOUR WISH IS GRANTED!!!" Porunga dove back into the dragon balls, and Vegeta, Nappa, and Bardock dove for the ground as the dragon balls scattered.

"Your Majesty," Bardock pushed himself out of the dirt, "I have a very bad feeling."

"We'll deal with that in a minute. We're going to go check on the screeching harpies first." King Vegeta hauled himself to his feet and lept into the air, headed straight for Kami's Tower.

~*~*~*~

"Oh!" Bulma and Chi Chi hunched over simultaneously, clutching at their temples. Both women had been sitting on either side of Videl, who was fidgeted nervously, with Ellysse sitting across from her friend. They'd been waiting for several hours, now, chatting idly to dull the boredom and the sickening worry. Vegeta had perched himself on a step, facing away from the grey door his son had gone through, and was watching Raditz and Goku spar playfully. Kami and Piccolo stood just behind Gohan, as the young man crouched moodily, also watching the sparing match.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Videl asked, looking concerned as all the men were suddenly crouching close in concern.

"Woman," Vegeta barked, tilting Bulma's chin up as her fingers threaded through her hair. The lines in her face were gone, and the decades of jaded pain had melted out of her wide blue eyes.

"Hey!" Bulma slapped his hand away, looking appalled. "Watch it, buster! Do I look like some little harlot you can just man-handle?!" Bulma turned, and caught sight of Goku kneeling over Chi Chi.

"Son-kun? Is – is that you?"

"Wow, you haven't called me that in years, Bulma!" Goku smiled at his life-long friend, just as Chi Chi looked up and gasped.

"Where am I? Where have you taken me? Goku?" Chi Chi shrank back a little, looking confused. "I was looking for you," she bit her lip nervously, fidgeting as she tried to figure out what had happened.

"Mom, are you okay?" Gohan tried to sooth his mother, reaching out to grab her shoulders.

"_MOM_?!" Chi Chi shrieked, hitting decible levels with her voice like she hadn't done in years.

"Chi Chi?" Goku turned his wife around. "That's Gohan. He's our son, and he's all grown up now, don't you remember?"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Bulma shrieked, standing up and planting her fists on her hips. "Son-kun, the last time I checked, you were freakin' fourteen years old, alright? And now you look like you're in your thirties, and this guy you're claiming is your son looks like he's the same freakin' age, and _why_ do you keep looking at me like that?" Bulma whirled on Vegeta, snarling at him as he folded his arms and tilted his head to one side in a very irate kind of way.

"How old do you think you are?" Vegeta asked.

"What kind of stupid question is that? I'm eighteen, damnit!"

Vegeta snarled wordlessly, and Bulma took a surprised step back.

"Jeeze, buddy, what's your malfuntion?" Bulma asked, taking another step back.

"Kakarrot, do you have any idea what my father has done?" Vegeta turned to Goku.

"Wished Bulma and Chi Chi younger because he wants to repopulate the planet with Sayajins?" Goku asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Repopulate?!" Bulma shrieked.

"Precisely." Vegeta snarled, flickering in and out of Super Sayajin for a moment.

Just then, the grey door opened, and Trunks stepped out into the bright sunshine. He dropped out of Super Sayajin II, as Videl rushed to take the unconscious child from his arms. He handed Pan over wordlessly before stepping close to his parents and hugging Bulma.

"Hey, Mom. You doing okay? You look a little upset." Trunks had barely turned to catch the furious look on his father's face when Bulma shoved him violently away.

"I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER!"

"Back already, kid?" King Vegeta landed, Bardock and Nappa on either side of him. "That didn't take you long at all."

Trunks didn't get a chance to respond, before his father launched across the Tower and kicked his grandfather so hard in the ribs that the old king went flying over the edge. Trunks chased after them, on the basis that this was a family matter, and not necessarily because he had any intention of stopping his father from committing patricide, or regicide. He might even help.

* * *

A/N; And another one bites the dust! Props for omnipotent Porunga, since the mighty dragon is finally in this chapter! Some one asked a question last chapter, but I forgot to answer - the mythologies are Greek and Norse, all out of Edith Hamilton's Greek Mythology. Anyway, the plot will continue to thicken - King Vegeta still has to repopulate the planet, Prince Vegeta and Goku have to get thier wives memories back, Raditz and Ellysse have to hook up, Bardock needs some character developement, and anarchy still riegns in the wake of the androids destruction. Speaking of the androids, what have they been up to? And whatever is an author to do with Buu in this alternate timeline? Wow, I'm being spastic. This is why I dont drink coffee...


	7. Usurper

The King of all Sayajins didn't get the chance to flee; his son caught him by the ankle as he fell, and swung him around until there was enough momentum to hurl the king down to Earth, and through several feet of solid rock.

"Dad," Trunks caught the prince with a hand clamping down on his shoulder, "Take a deep breath, calm down, and _then_ beat the crap out of him. You know you only make it worse when you lose control," Trunks warned his father.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," Vegeta laughed darkly, his feral grin stretching wide. Both princes dove after the fallen king, hurtling straight for the ground.

Back on Kami's Tower, Bulma squawked indignantly.

"They can fly! That is _so_ totally unfair!" Bulma whirled on the group. "Hey, you lot, whoever else can fly had better get me-" Cabbage broke the imminent tirade by scooping up the blue-haired woman and blasting off the edge of the tower, and instantly regretted it as the now-younger woman let out the most high-pitched, drawn out wail Cabbage had ever heard.

"If you don't shut up right now, Bulma, I swear to god I'll drop you!" Cabbage snarled. Bulma stopped screaming, but she clung to the Sayajin woman with a strength Cabbage had completely underestimated. She could feel the others following them, hot on her heels; Nappa and Bardock drew even with her, as Goku, Raditz, and Gohan hung back with their own female burdens, and Piccolo brought up the rear.

"I'm gonna say this to someone who might actually listen," Bardock said as they flew downwards, "But I still have a really bad feeling."

"Duly noted." Cabbage nodded, not looking at the half-prophet.

They landed behind Trunks, who stood at the edge of the pit his father had dug with his grandfather's body, watching as the older prince shook the old man violently.

"Do you have any idea how incredibly, mind-bogglingly _stupid_ that was? How many legends are out there, about phrasing the wish _just_ _right_? I told you to let her do it herself, she's used the goddamn things enough to know how to fucking get it right, but _no_-"

"Hey!" Bulma pushed away from Cabbage as soon as they landed, and ran to the lip of the pit, screeching like a banshee at the prince hovering just above it. "You cant just take off like that! If you think you're so smart, and know what the hell is going on, then you'd better get your short ass down here and explain it to me, or there's gonna be a world of trouble for you!"

"Now probably isn't the best time, Mom," Trunks tried to tell his mother.

"Don't even get me started on you, buster! And, I swear to god, if you call me mom one more time, I'm going to rip your esophagus out! How old are you, twenty? I'm eight-freakin'-teen, there's no way I could have a twenty year old son!" Bulma whirled back to the hovering prince. "Are you deaf _and_ dumb? I said get down here!"

"I've created a monster, haven't I?" King Vegeta asked, licking at the blood streaming from his nose as he took in the blue-haired young woman.

"Eighteen years old and no memory of anything," Prince Vegeta snarled, letting his father go and stepping onto the lip of the pit, right in front of Bulma, forcing her to take a step back. "Woman, your infernal yapping stops _now_." Vegeta snarled, stepping in close to her.

"Then would you please explain what's going on?" Bulma switched gears like lightening, suddenly sweet and docile. Vegeta took a breath to say something, glaring at her, before he paused and looked helplessly at Trunks.

"Start with the Dragon Balls," Trunks offered, as Cabbage came to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Right," Vegeta nodded, and turned back to Bulma. "My idiot father wished you back to the age of eighteen because he wants to repopulate the Sayajin race." Vegeta ground his teeth at her single quirked eyebrow. "I am Sayajin. Kakarott – Goku, is a Sayajin. Gohan and Trunks are half Sayajin: the girl, Pan, is a quarter Sayajin."

"I get that part, spaghetti head, what's that all got to do with me?"

"The brat," Vegeta pointed to Trunks, "Is our son."

"Ours? As in yours and mine?" Vegeta nodded, and Bulma turned to look at her forgotten son. "There's no way; he's twenty, and you're about thirty."

Vegeta looked at his son helplessly again, but it was Cabbage who offered the explanation.

"Your planet has been razed by androids for the past twenty years. Trunks killed them," Cabbage jerked her thumb at the lavender-haired youth, "But when they first showed up, they killed all of the Earths defenders. All of your friends, as well as Prince Vegeta."

"I always liked that name," she said thoughtfully as she studied her son, before turning to her husband. "You're a prince?" Bulma asked, looking Vegeta up and down speculatively.

"I fucking _died_ for you and this pathetic little mud ball!' Vegeta roared, his face inches from hers. "I took my last breath in your arms, and you don't even remember what I said to you! It took me twenty years to fight my way across hell and climb the Tree of Life just to get back to your sorry ass, and you don't _fucking_ remember what you said to me the night I came home! You don't remember what you said that even made me think of this place _as_ home, you don't remember _our_ _son_-"

Bulma's eyes widened as she listened to him, understanding dawning as she watched him rage; she took his face in both hands and kissed him, gently, effectively ending the tirade. Vegeta deflated for just a moment, before he wrapped one arm around her waist and cupped the base of her skull with his other hand, and kissed her with a desperation he'd only felt in the moments just before he'd died.

"So you're the guy who made the wish?" Chi Chi faced the King of all Sayajin, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yes." King Vegeta nodded, nose still dripping blood. Chi Chi hauled off and hit him square in the jaw, looking pleased with herself.

"Chi Chi, you cant go hitting kings in the face, its not nice!" Goku pulled her into his arms, looking panicked.

"Its his fault that I don't even remember my own son!" Chi Chi snarled, pushing away from her husband. "Where's my baby?"

"Calm down, Mom, I'm right here," Gohan wrapped his arms around his mother, pulling her into a tight hug. "C'mon, you gotta meet your granddaughter and your daughter in law, again."

"I'm a grandma?" Chi Chi squealed, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Hey," Videl smiled, stepping close to them. "I'm Videl, and this is Pan,"

"Why is she covered in blood?" Chi Chi asked, looking alarmed.

"Ah, well, that would be because she fought the goddess Hel today," Gohan laughed nervously.

"Hades, too, and we think she had a run in with the three Fates while we were down in Tartarus," Trunks walked over, choosing to ignore his parent's romantic moment.

"What?" Gohan turned to the younger man, voice dangerously low. Trunks held his hands up, looking alarmed.

"There was nothing I could have done to stop her, she just sort of took her own initiative!"

"Yeah, she does that," Gohan sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Chi Chi, don't forget my dad, Bardock, and my brother Raditz, and that's Ellysse, I think she's gonna be my sister-in-law," Goku turned his wife toward the rest of their family. "You only met them two days ago, when they came back to life with us, but since you don't remember, you get to meet them all over again! Except Ellysse, you just met her this morning, but thats okay-"

"I smell brimstone," Bardock said, sniffing at the air suspiciously. "Cabbage, you didn't make any detours while you were down there, did you?"

"Into certain Circles? I might have tripped over the border," Cabbage hedged, grimacing. For the second time that day, the sky went black, and lightening and thunder rolled. The pit King Vegeta had dug with his own body deepened into an unnatural gaping maw in the ground that oozed blackness and evil, and rising out of it, was a huge red demon, complete with horns and tail.

"Beelzeebub!" Bardock stepped to the edge of the pit, grinning ferally. "How the fuck are you, you candy-assed fruitcake!"

"Usurper," the demon snarled, before turning to King Vegeta. "Our contract has been broken. A Sayajin soul has trespassed on the shadow-land belonging to the Prince of Darkness."

Every set of eyes turned to look at Cabbage.

"Whoops." She said, her face dead-pan, arms folded over her chest and one hip cocked.

"Technically, she's alive again, so-" King Vegeta started, turning back to the demon.

"THE CONTRACT IS BROKEN!" the Beelzeebub roared.

"Yeah, alright, alright," King Vegeta waved a hand irritably. "Calm down for two minutes, will you?"

"What contract?" Trunks asked, moving to the edge of the pit as well.

"Bardock usurped Satan's throne, and now no Sayajin is allowed within his Circles. The souls of our people are shuffled between Tartarus and Niflhiem." Prince Vegeta explained, grinning ferally at the hovering demon.

"Three whole days, I had you at my mercy," Bardock taunted, returning to the lip of the pit with his unconscious great-granddaughter tucked against his chest. "Just wait 'till this one dies, 'Bub. My little girl's gonna fuck you up!" Pan stirred awake in Bardocks arms, and looked up at the demon sleepily out of her mismatched eyes.

"Fuck you up," the little girl repeated sleepily, pointing her sword at Beelzeebub.

"Bardock!" Videl shrieked, "Don't you _dare_ use nasty words around my baby!"

"She is god-touched," Beelzeebub laughed, the dark sound echoing in their bones. "By rulers of the Underworld; that child is a minion of darkness, and you think to threaten me with her future power? The pets of dark gods can do only dark deeds, Sayajin." Beelzeebub held out one taloned hand, and began shaping the power emanating from the sword Pan still held outstretched. "There is great power in a name, Bardock the Usurper, and I bequeath to your spawn the power of a name; her sword, drenched in the blood of gods, is Usurper, and in the wake of its use, there will be death, destruction, and chaos." The sword glowed in Pan's hands, the dried blood soaking into the metal, leaving the blade gleaming and as sharp as the day it was forged. Beelzeebub lowered his hand, and turned back to King Vegeta. "You agreed to pay a price for the trespassing of one of your people, Sayajin King," Beelzeebub reached into the pit he hovered over, and pulled a screaming, thrashing Android 18 up by her throat. "You will take her, as payment."

"Like hell we will!" Trunks snarled, his aura flashing around him.

"You are not part of the contract," Beelzeebub stated. "You have no say in the matter. King Vegeta has agreed to take charge of one damned soul for every Sayajin that trespasses Satan's Circle and is not immediately caught and punished." Beelzeebub tossed the struggling android at King Vegeta's feet, and started to sink into the pit.

The sky lightened, and the pit became just another hole in the ground, leaving the group of warriors standing at the foot of Karrins' Tower, staring at the gasping android on the ground.

"It dies," Trunks snarled, extending one hand as he charged a ki blast.

"No!" King Vegeta stepped in front of his grandson. "If you kill her, I break the contract again, and that'll be a price we cant afford to pay."

"That _thing_," Trunks snarled, "Killed my father and my best friend, destroyed my planet, and used me like a plaything!"

"And how does that make her any different from your father and your lover?" King Vegeta asked. "Cabbage and Vegeta have destroyed hundreds of planets, killed billions of people, and you're easy to fuck with anyway,"

"You're already on thin ice, for that wish you made," Trunks stepped in close to his grandfather, flashing unconsciously into Super Sayajin.

"All I have to do is wait a year and wish their memories back," King Vegeta shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "But if you kill the android again, you'll be condemning me and all of my descendents to eternal damnation in the deepest pits of Lucifer's little fun factory. Your father and I could handle that, and so could you, probably, but do you really want to do that to your unborn child?"

Trunks jerked back as if he'd been slapped, teal eyes wide.

"Well," Eighteen stood up, brushing herself off, "Now that that's decided, is there any way I could get a bath and some clean clothes?"

"It speaks when spoken to," Prince Vegeta snarled at her, teeth bared.

"You might not want to wander out of eyesight from me," King Vegeta warned her, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Just because they cant kill me doesn't mean I cant kill-" the king blurred when he moved, backhanding her across the face, and she turned shocked blue eyes on him.

"I'm gonna say this nicely, just once, girly," the king growled in her face, "_Get with the fucking program_." He poked her in the chest, hard. "You're dealing with Sayajin, now, and if you want respect, you fucking earn it, bitch. You think toying with humans was fun for twenty years? My people have been committing genocide for over eight hundred. Humans fight to live – Sayajins live to fight. And furthermore," the king grinned ferally, leaning in close. "Lucifer has made your soul forfeit to me. I fucking _own_ you, bitch." The king stepped back from the android, who looked too shocked to do anything.

"Um…" Gohan turned to Videl suddenly, looking for a distraction. "We should go back up to Kami's Tower and have him take a look at Pan. Running around in the Underworld isn't good for little girls."

"Great idea!" Goku said, scooping up Chi Chi and rocketing upwards without waiting for anyone else. Gohan was hot on his heels, scooping up Videl.

"Blood comes first!" Bardock shot upwards as well, clutching his great-granddaughter tightly to his chest.

"Yeah, be seein' ya," Raditz scooped up Ellysse, and flew after his family.

"Someone please explain to me why that just happened," Bulma said weakly, leaning on Vegeta.

"I'd like to know how you can fight your way across Hell when you're not allowed in it," Trunks turned to his father, eyebrows raised.

"We got through Satan's Circles before Bardock had his fun; by the time we got to Yggdrasil, he was already waiting at the roots with your grandfather, Nappa, Cabbage, and Raditz." Vegeta shrugged.

"Don't you think it's a little odd, that everyone was just waiting for you there? And how we're all connected?" Trunks asked his father, turning to his grandfather to open the question up to him as well.

"The Mother Goddess," Nappa said, answering the question for all of them. "She's a wily bitch, but she needs her heroes."

"Unborn child?" Bulma looked at Trunks, blue eyes wide. "I'm going to be a grandma?"

"Yep," Cabbage said, standing next to the young prince. "In about nine months."

"Take me home," Bulma turned to Vegeta, looking a little desperate and very close to tears. He scooped her up, and they headed towards Capsule Corp. King Vegeta grabbed 18 by the wrist and hauled her into the air, and let Cabbage, Trunks, and Nappa overtake them.

"So," the king looked the android up and down. "Can you still reproduce?"

~*~*~*~

"There's nothing I can do about the eyes," Kami sighed, "And the thread wont come off until she's fulfilled her destiny, which could be the day she dies." Kami took the sword from the little girl, and studied it. "Piccolo made this sword; this much I can help you with." The god concentrated on the sword, and the blade glowed golden in his hands. "It is done," Kami handed the sword back. "I cannot undo the evil entirely, but its true powers will only be unleashed when it is used with the intent to save another's life."

"Beelzeebub said she's a minion of darkness," Bardock said, fidgeting worriedly with the rest of his family. "Can you do anything about that?"

Kami laid one shriveled hand on Pan's head, and concentrated.

"Her heart is pure," Kami smiled gravely at their relieved looks, "But all her life, she will be a battle ground for good and evil. She will never know true peace."

Videl gasped, close to tears.

"I think we should head home, now," Gohan picked up his daughter, and thanked Kami as the Son family headed back to the place they'd started the day at.

As soon as Chi Chi was set down in the front lawn, she made up her mind about the largest problem they had as a family.

"We're tearing that house down," she told them, "And we're going to build a bigger one, so that we can all stay together, like one big, happy family."

The Son family stared at their matron, reduced in years and maturity, but never in bull-headed willfulness and dogged perseverance.

* * *

A/N; Alrighty, alot is going on in this chapter...I'm kind of surprised at how it came out, too. But things are going to calm down in the next chapter, and people are going to be dealing with just the emotional stuff - no more gods of death for a while. I feel pretty good about where this is going, and since I havent thought of an ending yet, I think its gonna be going for a while.


	8. Hijacked

"So this," Cabbage pointed to the first dial, "Controls the space-time continuum, and this one," she pointed to the second dial on the dashboard of the time-machine, "Is the big red button you push to go anywhere, and your mother said not to touch all the rest?"

"Pretty much," Trunks shrugged distractedly, as he watched Android 18 chase his eighteen-year-old mother across the front lawn of Capsule Corp. with a squirt gun.

"Uh-huh," Cabbage surveyed the dials carefully, as Trunks continued to not focus on her – he didn't notice her turning the dials randomly, didn't notice her deliberate shifting; in fact, he completely ignored her until he thought she was standing up to exit the time machine. As she stood up, Trunks placed his hands on the armrests of the pilots chair to stand with her, as soon as she'd landed. Instead, Cabbage slammed the cockpit shut and sat again, hitting the big red button with her fist just as the situation dawned on Trunks.

The blue glow pulsed around the time machine, ignored in the dark recess of the garage by the occupants of the lawn, and Trunks silently cursed himself.

"I cant believe I just fell for that," he told the mother of his unborn child, looking stunned. Trunks let Cabbage leap out of the time machine, still in awe of how easily he'd been duped. Eventually, the shear devastation of their surroundings pulled at his attention, and he climbed out and capsulated the time machine to follow Cabbage over to the little hillock she'd climbed to the top of. There was a ring of abandoned and crumbling suburbia around a giant crater, and ash fell out of the sky like rain. Not from the crater – it was decades old – but from towering columns of smoke on each distant horizon.

"Impact crater," Cabbage commented. "And those don't look like nuclear mushrooms clouds."

"Androids?" Trunks asked, even though this looked nothing like the haphazard, casual destruction of the dynamic duo.

"Not like any we've met," Cabbage turned subtly, and Trunks turned with her, feeling the approaching power levels.

The tiny dot materializing out of the grey sky became several dots as it got closer, and Trunks scowled. Freeza, and subsequently the Sayajin, favored rounded crafts, whereas these were sharp, shaped like spades as they cut through the ash-laden air, trailing exhaust.

"Probably not friendly," Cabbage smirked as troops dropped out of open hatches while the ships circled them.

Mostly guns, Trunks eyed the weapons, then their heavily armored carriers. One of them came just a little forward, only distinguishable from the rest by the slightly spikier uniform.

"Cyborg. Looks like Gero's given you a full upgrade." There was no visible mouth, just a grill over the right area of the face, if it were humanoid. It was too long-limbed and narrowly built to be human or Sayajin, Trunks decided, as the being took another step closer. "Out here all alone, without the androids to protect you? You haven't made that mistake in _years_." The soldier fired; Trunks bent over backwards, letting the artificial energy beam pass just over his nose. It was a powerful blast, enough to have blown a hole through his chest if he'd been any slower. He flashed into Super Sayajin as he straightened.

"Anomaly," another soldier gestured with its weapon, not at Trunks, but at Cabbage. "Cabbage, Sayajin Royal Guard. Recorded dead. Anomaly." The voice sounded so computerized, Trunks thought, as the soldier gestured at him now. "Bio-readings indicate no artificial augmentation."

"Briefs clones?" the leader asked.

"Negative. Bio-readings indicate original specimens." The leader chuckled darkly, if the odd barking sound could be considered chuckling.

"So you found your pathetic Dragon Balls, little king? And you didn't wish us off your precious mud ball?" More of that odd, barking laugh; Trunks glanced to the left, where he'd caught movement out of the corner of his eye, but there was nothing there, so he turned his attention back to the troop, just as the leader got suddenly serious. "Directive; destroy."

The soldiers started closing in, and Trunks ignored the movement from outside the ring of soldiers again, in favor of blasting the nearest one, to no effect. Shocked, but not deterred, Trunks shot into Super Sayajin Level Two, and blasted the trooper again. The blow should have spread him over several gory feet, instead of only knocking him back and down. Trunks could feel Cabbage pressing against his back, crouched low in a fighting stance, firing off ki blasts to no avail.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?" she asked, her hair ruffling from his backlash of power.

"Only if we live," he told her, and fired off a Burning Attack that cleared enough of a pathway for him to scoop her up and dart through it. A glance over his shoulder shocked him – three figures had hit the left flank of the troop in an ambush. Trunks dumped Cabbage in an ash bank, and dove back into the fight, unleashing himself on the troop. When bodies littered the ground, he turned to his would-be rescuers, and froze.

He was staring at a version of himself he could barely comprehend; lavender hair cropped into a crew cut, to avoid the metal plate covering a third of the skull, and a swiveling, red, mechanical eye. The short sword flipped back into the mechanical left arm, replaced with long, polished, mechanical fingers. The mechanical leg left deep prints in the soft soil, hissing with each step as this strange metal-Trunks came forward. No wonder the trooper had called him Cyborg; this Trunks' entire left side was mechanized. He was bare-chested, and where there wasn't metal, the skin was scar tissue, layered over almost every inch of bare skin. What was most eye-catching, though, after taking in the first initial appearance, was the three symbols stamped down the upper left arm, carved into the metal; the Sayajin Royal crest, the Capsule Corporation logo, and the Red Ribbon Army insignia.

"Whoa," the comment made Trunks turn, and he took in Androids 17 and 18, standing just behind his mechanized self. They both wore tank-tops, probably to show off their matching tattoos; the Royal crest on each upper right arm, and the Capsule logo on the upper left arm, with Red Ribbon bandanas around their necks. Trunks had always hated how perfect their faces were – looking at these scarred counterparts was almost a half blessing.

"Clone?" 17 asked, tilting his head curiously.

"No," 18 responded. "Bio-readings say he's an original specimen."

"Look at the residual energy readings." Metal-Trunks grinned, revealing a mouth full of silver teeth. "Time travelers. And here I thought Mom and Gero were just throwing Bra a bone to keep her occupied."

Cabbage came up and stood next to the man who'd gone to Tartarus for her, studying the cyborg version. "If you ever end up looking like that, I'm not screwing you," she told him.

"Hey!" Trunks squawked indignantly, while his other self laughed darkly.

"Cabbage," the deaths-head grin of the cyborg softened, "Its good to see you again, you rabid bitch."

"Kami be damned, I'm popular today. I hear I'm dead in this world," Cabbage brushed her hair out of her eyes, smearing ash on her face, "I was dead in my own, but you know what they say; you cant keep a good dog down."

The metal smile softened into something affectionately bitter, before the emotions were shoved aside, and the metal-Trunks became all business again.

"As King of the Planetary Union, I order you to come with me." He turned and headed out into the sifting ash, back the way he'd come. Both androids followed faithfully, and after only a shared glance, did the time travelers follow.

It was a long trek, into the mountains and through narrow canyons, until they stepped into a small cave, where the press of a hidden lever made the back wall swing in on itself, to reveal a ki-carved tunnel leading downwards. The dark passage only illuminated itself after the hidden door had closed again, and flesh-Trunks made to ask his first question.

"What is the Planetary Union?"

"We were worlds being colonized by Freeza's Empire – Vegetasie, Nameksie, and Chikuusie signed the Declaration of Independence in the year 762 AD. Dr. Gero wrote the Constitution after four years of campaigning with Father and Grandfather. Other worlds still call it the Great Revolution. Goku should have killed Freeza when he had the chance, though. The lizard bastard sold half his Empire to the Collective, for the price of our heads, and he's gotten most of them. Father, Gohan, Piccolo…" there was a distracted look in the single blue eye, before it was shoved ruthlessly aside. "Any allegiance to the Planetary Union is considered a death sentence."

"The Collective – the troop we ran into?"

"Yes."

"They said something about Mom cloning…"

"The Collective has had us cornered on Chikuusie for over fifteen years – Nameksie and Vegetasie have already fallen. The last of our races are holed up in caves and laboratories. Mom's been cloning and gene-splicing for most of that time, for the shock troops and the chance to repopulate."

"And Gero's been making androids. Where do you get the materials for all of this?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," the cyborg smiled cryptically, and the flesh-Trunks began to understand some of the differences between the two of them. This mechanized Trunks was harder, colder, more calculating, than he ever could be. There were no armies for him to count on, no vast and unstoppable enemy that he had to face, no allies to cajole and threaten; just unspeakable horror, stared in the face, every day. For the flesh-Trunks, it had ended. For the metal-Trunks, it had already half-destroyed him. They exchanged a glance, in the silence that stretched between them; the pity from the other shocked them both. Pity for the softness of a life lived, and pity for the harshness. If they could both have met a Trunks from a different time, they would have been only shocked at the softness and happiness that could have been had.

"What about your world, stranger?" the cyborg asked; and the flesh-Trunks spilled the history of his world, starting with the destruction of Vegetasie and ending with the return of his father. No one else said a word, until they stepped into a well-lit cavern. It was a maze of machinery that beeped and hummed, but the greatest scientific accomplishment was the far wall, lined from top to bottom and side to side with incubation tanks.

"This is our secondary base." The metal-Trunks grinned devilishly, and led them through the maze of machinery, until they stood behind Bulma as she was leaning over something on the work table.

"Mom," the cyborg stepped toward her, and she turned – flesh-Trunks caught the gasp before it even left his throat. Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing her mechanical right hand, and the neckline of her shirt was low enough to see the scar that stretched from ear to ear, where someone had tried to slit her throat. The scar was white and wrinkled, old, and Trunks knew that for all the hardships he and his mother had faced, there was nothing in their world that could have made Bulma's eyes as hard as this counterpart. Blue fire with a core of steel that was too close to the surface for comfort. She took one look at the unblemished version of her son, and looked truly afraid.

"They've found a way to clone you?" she asked, her voice soft with horror.

"No," her true son said, and her shoulders slumped marginally as her eyes went curious. "But in another world, you built a time machine to save your world."

"Gero and I couldn't even work through the formula," her voice was oddly raspy, probably because her voice box was permanently damaged from the old scar across her throat.

Before anyone could add anything more, there was the pitter-patter of small feet moving quickly, and two children came careening around some machinery.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDY!!!" Flesh-Trunks gaped at the children as they charged the cyborg; Pan was the same as he'd last seen her, even the hair cut, but the boy, the one screaming, was almost a tiny version of himself – with his mother's coloring. China-blue eyes, and corn-silk blond hair. Just seeing all three of them so close together, he knew. He bit down on his fury, waited until both children were taken away by the androids, and stepped in nose to nose with the cyborg.

"You slept with that _thing_?" he hissed, furious enough that his aura crackled around him.

"_She_ was made to protect this world," Metal-Trunks growled, narrowing both eyes.

"_It_ destroyed mine!"

"Trunks!" Cabbage barked, "I'm going to say this once, and you'd better fucking listen. In this world, you love her enough to have given her a child. Your grandfather may never love her, but he cant hate for committing the same crimes he's committed. He's had forty years in Nieflhiem to regret – the Android 18 of our time has had less than a year in Satan's Circles, and he spat her back out the first chance he got. You can either forgive, and live in the peace that so many died for, or you can hold on to your grudge, and let it kill us all. Again." Her point made, she turned to Bulma and gestured to her neck. "What's with the scar?"

"The Ginyu Force tried to make an example of me. Vegeta killed them." She grinned unpleasantly, an expression both time-travelers hoped never to see on her face again.

"And what the hell happened to you?" Cabbage turned to the cyborg.

"I went out alone, when I was fifteen. Got caught by a troop of Collectives. You fought them off and brought me back." He paused, a soft look in his natural eye, before it hardened and he continued. "You died in Raditz's arms. He died a week later, trying to avenge your death. Gero rebuilt me, and the war marched on."

"Why the hell would Raditz die for my spilt blood? He swore a blood vengeance on me when we were nineteen."

"You were mated," Bulma broke in, folding her arms over her chest as she leaned against her work table, "And pregnant with his son."

Cabbage stared at the older woman, black eyes wide, then turned to her Trunks, lips parted in shock.

"Maybe you never killed Laittu here," he shrugged, looking just as surprised.

"What's this about killing me?" the man who stepped out from the machinery looked like the spitting image of Nappa; the same mustache, the same bald head, the same build. The only difference, really, was the eye patch. He caught sight of Cabbage, and his single black eye widened. "Sister?" he didn't wait for a response, and pounced on her. Cabbage screamed, thrashed, bit and kicked, and still could not escape the bear hug. Then he caught sight of the unscathed Trunks, and dropped his sister. As she landed hard on her ass, Laittu turned to Bulma and asked in a hurt tone, "Clones?"

"No," Bulma shook her head, "Time travelers, from another dimension."

"Oh!" Laittu smiled broadly and scooped his sister up again into another tight hug. "Cabbage sighed with a disgusted kind of resignation.

"I missed you, too, retard," she said, and he put her down to look at her, and simply take her in.

"Mom, I solved it! I solved it!" A blue-haired teenager came darting through the machinery, waving a piece of paper. She skidded to a halt in front of Bulma, brandishing the piece of paper at the older woman. "Mom, it's the equation for the time machine! I found it!"

"Bra, honey," Bulma took the paper, studied the equation, her eyes widening, "This is amazing!"

"It wont work," flesh-Trunks broke in. "The equation will work, and the machine will work if you build it, but you'll only create a divergent timeline by traveling to the past."

"Well, duh!" Bra said, planting her fists on her hips and glaring. "Time is the invariable! We have to go to the future and make the changes now, dummy! You're pretty stupid for my brother's clone."

"I'm not a clone," flesh-Trunks said icily. "I just got dumper here because my girlfriend decided to take a joy ride in my mother's time machine."

"I said I was sorry!" Cabbage protested.

"And we're still alive. Yippee." Trunks glowered at her. Cabbage stuck her tongue out at him. "We should leave, actually. We've probably already corrupted this timeline pretty badly."

Cabbage hesitated, then shrugged and climbed into his lap when he'd decapsulated the time machine and taken his seat in the pilots chair. She hugged Laittu before she did, though, and that surprised Trunks a little. She snapped the hatch closed, and they waved as the blue glow suffused the ship.

"You set the dials back?" Trunks asked, sounding doubtful.

"Perfectly. I promise." She turned in his lap to look him in the eye. "Will you forgive and forget?"

"Not forget," Trunks said after a long pause. "But I can forgive and accept."

She smiled and kissed him gently. The blue glow was gone, and as Cabbage popped the hatch, a thought struck Trunks.

"We should go help the Son's with their house. I bet Chi Chi's going nuts with the rebuilding."

"In a little while," Cabbage said from the floor of the garage. Bulma and 18 ran by with water guns again, and Cabbage chased after them.

Trunks watched them play for a moment, then went inside and sat at the kitchen table with his father, Nappa, and his grandfather, where they were playing cards. And after two weeks of not speaking to the old king, Trunks began to close the rift when he said, "Deal me in."

* * *

A/N; Forgot one of the major details, so I'm uploading this chapter again. Sorry...this story is already full of incontinuities and miss-spellings, but thanks for everyone being more interested in the plot.


	9. Late in Life Part 1

Pan stared up at her great-grandfather reverentially as he showed her a basic kick – Bardock ignored the expression, mostly because it unnerved him. But she mimicked the move perfectly on her first try, looking expectantly at him for approval.

"Good," he said, staring down at her, not knowing that for the rest of her life, Pan would look at it as the first time she'd ever truly succeeded at a specific task put before her.

It took half an hour to show her basic moves, that she repeated perfectly the first time, before Bardock even thought that there might be something to the theory of ingrained memory.

Mostly human, he thought, as she somersaulted perfectly; training her to fight was like teaching her a language she'd half-forgotten, but just the reminder seemed to fire all the right neurons. Bardock didn't know that it'd taken Gohan six months to shatter a boulder with a single punch, but he also didn't know weather to chalk her fist attempt up to genetics or the predetermination of the gods. Either way, the boulder exploded away from her fist, and the tiny girl turned expectant, mismatched eyes on him.

"Good," he said again, and Pan grinned; the eyes of a four-year-old do not quickly catch an expression of strained surprise, no matter what else they see.

Bardock caught a few fish in a near-by stream, and offered her a quick lunch – as he fired a ki ball to start the fire, she looked away and pointed to a near-by cliff.

"Grampa," her mismatched eyes glowed eerily, "You need to be up there. She'll die if you don't."

Bardock looked up at the cliff, seeing the red-haired woman being backed toward the ledge, then down at the fish. He sighed, left the fish close enough to the fire that a properly conditioned animal wouldn't venture too near, and scooped the little girl up. It was a quick flash of ki to get to the top of the cliff, and he hovered effortlessly above the group with his great-granddaughter clutched in one arm.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked, voice rough. The bundle that the woman was carrying started to wail, and Bardock grimaced – it came off looking like an evil smirk, but a baby thrown in to the mix was not a good sign.

"The King will not tolerate insurrection!" The man that spoke had the most insignia, so he might have been the leader, but Bardock came from a race of warriors that let their weakest bark the loudest – the Sayajin prophet chuckled.

"I follow one king," he told the soldier, as he hovered above them, "And he is not a man who would accept the execution of a woman and child."

"Weakness must be eliminated," the soldier said coldly, his grip knuckle-white on the sword he held.

"After what the androids did, I don't think any human being in their right mind would consider propagation a weakness," Bardock quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the red-haired woman standing on the lip of the cliff.

"A daughter has no place on the throne," the woman said, jerking her chin haughtily at the soldiers surrounding her. "According to the father of my daughter."

"The man's an idiot," Bardock dropped his great-granddaughter onto the rocky surface of the cliff. "Pan, show the bad men what you learned today." Bardock landed next to the woman as Pan filled the next few minutes with unprecedented violence, crossing his arms over his plated chest. "She's very gifted," he told the woman, barely noting her shocked expression. "I've just started her training, too, and look how well she's doing! Look at that! Good job, Pan! She learned that this morning. Oooh, her grandfather taught 'er that one though, but look! That one's mine!" Bardock narrated, gesturing excitedly.

"How old is she?" The woman asked, looking shocked.

"Her mother say's she's four, but…well, shit went down," Bardock explained without explaining, just as Pan came to a stop, looking around for anyone else to fight. There were only the crumpled bodies of her enemies around her, and Bardock cheered her on; she grinned in only the pleased way a child can, when they know they have won the approval of someone they have been trying very hard for.

"I did it!" she raised both fists above her head, grinning happily.

"Good job, kid!" Bardock told her, feeling his mouth stretch wide with pride.

"You're very good with children," the woman was looking at him when she spoke, so Bardock turned to her. Her expression was shrewd, her blue eyes narrowed as she studied him.

"Um…" Bardock failed to articulate, but Pan came to his rescue.

"Can I see?" She tugged at the woman's long skirt, trying to peer up at the child in her arms. The woman knelt, lifting the blanket away from the baby.

"This is Sloane," the woman smiled down at Pan, finally noticed the mismatched eyes, and started.

"She'll be a warrior," Pan looked up at the woman, "Just like me, Aunty Meave. I'll protect her form the pink monster. That way, she'll be a good queen, too."

"How-" The woman jerked back, looked up at Bardock.

"You'd better come home with us. Chi Chi'll find something for you." Bardock scooped up the woman and infant, waited for Pan to leap and latch onto his shoulder, and leapt into the air.

She gasped, and clutched at him, staring at the blurring ground, before she turned her big blue eyes on him.

"You…" she caught her breath, and something in her hardened, "I offer myself in return for the protection of my daughter."

"All of you?" Bardock asked, slowing as they came to the clearing where his descendants were rebuilding the family home.

"All of me."

Bardock smirked, hovering in midair as he held the woman. "I reserve the right to train any children produced however I see fit."

"And my daughter?"

"Especially your daughter. No kin goes unprotected here."

Bardock dropped to the ground, called for Chi Chi, and left the woman Maeve with his daughter in law. He checked on his sons progress on the house, caught sight of Trunks and Cabbage flying in low, and took off back to the woods with Pan.

"You saw her death?" Bardock asked, not looking at the child clinging to his shoulder.

"Yeah," Pan was quiet for so long he thought she wouldn't elaborate. "Aunty Maeve did some really bad stuff, but she did it to protect Sloane. Like when Trunks killed the androids. And Sloane…she's gonna do some bad stuff when she's big, worse than me. But her daddy is a bad man. Really bad, Granddad, worse than you, an' you've killed lots and lots of people."

Bardock's blood ran cold; kin was one of two things that mattered to him, and all he'd ever wanted was a son. Now he had two, a grandson who was stronger than both, and a great granddaughter that was all of them funneled down into one tiny body that was going to shake the foundations of creation.

He could see it.

* * *

I'm sorry I hid under a rock for so long. Please forgive me...this all seems pretty trivial, but everything is building onto something else, I promise!


	10. Late in Life Part 2

Nappa had a few talents. When Cabbage had been training under him, they used to play Who's the Better Killer; it was one of her favorite games. But Cabbage had gone off to the Academy, and Nappa had been left with cleaning up after royalty. That was really what Nappa was good at, mostly because if it was a Vegeta giving orders, he just followed.

"Nappa!" Trunks bellowed across the bunker, "I said not to kill them!"

Nappa had problems when his talents conflicted; he blamed this on the fact that his king and the prince he'd raised had sent him out with Prince Manners, who didn't know how to utilize his talents. He liked Trunks, the kid had balls and brains, but he had soft spots, and that was never a good thing. Too easy to use an individual human life to take his focus off of big picture shit.

"Yank the weeds out by the root," Nappa muttered to himself, and snapped the neck in his grasp. He'd heard the order, but he was fairly confident he could pass this off as a mercy killing. Nearly every bone in the pitiful little things body had been broken.

"Nappa," Trunks called again, having backed the leader of the little gang into a corner, "Check for prisoners."

"What about the rest?" Nappa asked, because leaving his prince unprotected, even if he _was _the strongest man on the planet, was a strange concept.

"I've got it covered." Terse, getting impatient; that tone from a Vegeta didn't bode well. Nappa scanned the floor with his scouter, blasted a hole and dropped down into the cavern that had been carved beneath it. The scouter stretched across both eyes, because Bulma had listed eight or nine reasons why it was better without realizing that Nappa had stopped listening after the first few sentences, and not realized that a basic scouter had fucking _night _vision. Blue haired harpy thought they were fashion accesories, for all he could tell. He ripped it off now, scanning the room with eyes that easily adjusted to the dark. One rustling body in the far corner, and the stench of rotting bodies so thick in the air, even Nappa almost noticed.

Nappa hauled the body to the surface, dumping it unceremoniously at Trunks' feet.

"Only one left alive. Woman, mid thirties, infected lacerations across her stomach and face." Trunks glanced down at the body, struggling to its feet.

"You get off on torturing women?" Trunks turned to the man, voice dangerously low. Nappa stepped back, dragging the woman with him. Never get in the way of pissed off royalty, his father had taught him that much, before he'd claimed blood right.

Sure enough, Trunks blasted the man.

"Take her home?" Nappa asked, ignoring the flutter of ashes.

Trunks turned, looking at his father in law as if the man were an idiot.

"Right." Nappa scooped the woman up, and the Sayajin shot into the air without preamble.

Nappa brought the woman straight to Bulma, left before the blue-haired harpy could start shrieking, found his daughter in the kitchen and told her to go check on the situation. This left Nappa alone in the kitchen, and he scrounged for a while, finally settling on a still frozen hunk of meat in the freezer.

"You can get sick, eating raw meat," Nappa turned to eye 18, then took a bigger bite out of the meat. Teach the snippety consort to tell _him_ what to do! She sighed, rolled her eyes, and planted a hand on a cocked hip. "Have you seen Cabbage or Bulma?" she asked.

"Lab. Brought a woman back from cleaning up with the young prince." Nappa shrugged, and 18 left him to his meat. Nappa actually completely forgot about the woman, until the disjointed family was gathered back around the table for dinner.

Nappa was busy ignoring the weird tension between the king and his son over the whole blue-haired harpy issue, and the weird tension between the king and his grandson over the whole consort issue, and the blue-haired harpy's cheerful overcompensation paired with the consort's tense silence, and Cabbage's increasing mood swings. Then everyone went quiet, turning to the kitchen door, where the woman stood, clutching her stomach and peering at them from under the bandages across her face.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked, looking around at them from a single green eye.

"No! Of course not! Come on in and sit down," Bulma started to make a place for her at the table, and the woman sat down quietly. "I didn't think you'd be up for a while yet, you were pretty badly hurt,"

"I…It hurts." She was quiet as Bulma set a plate in front of her. "Where am I?"

"You're at Capsule Corp," Trunks passed her the peas, taking the bowl of potatoes from Cabbage.

The woman was quiet for a long moment as they served themselves, and the only noise came from hungry Sayajins.

"Who am I?" She asked, suddenly, into the silence.

All of them looked at her, deathly quiet.

"Ah, shit," King Vegeta sighed into his forkful of steak. "Amnesia. Fuckin' great. Nappa, you saved the bitch, you deal with her."

Nappa grunted around a mouthful of meat, indignantly.

"That doesn't sound like-" Trunks began.

"Let the pieces fall into place, kid," the old king snapped; Trunks rolled his eyes, but let the matter go, focusing on his plate.

"You're wearing a necklace that says 'Adara'," Bulma supplied, smiling gently. "It could be your name. We don't know who you are, either, sweetheart. Trunks and Nappa found you in a dungeon today, and brought you home."

The woman nodded. Just once, accepting, before she turned that single green eye to Nappa.

"Thank you."

Nappa didn't know why he blushed, so he turned back to his food, and ignored her for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Alright, I'm gonna have sit on this for a while more, but I promise to come back to it. Never leave a story unfinished!


	11. Pregnant

Bulma opened the door to the bathroom, saw 18 sitting on the side of the tub, and tried to hide the box in her hand behind her back. 18 started, then smiled weakly, and gestured to the similar box sitting next to the sink, and the white stick lying next to it. Bulma let out a shaky breath, stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, and ripped open the pregnancy test.

"You, too?" 18 asked, as Bulma scanned the directions.

"Yeah. I'm three weeks late." Bulma pulled her pajama bottoms down, white stick in her hand, and sat on the toilet.

"Its only been a couple months, though," 18 buried her head in her hands. "I mean, I know its what he wants and everything, its just that after this, what happens?"

Bulma snapped the cap on the white stick and laid it next to the one 18 had already set down.

"At least your Vegeta loves you." 18 muttered darkly.

"You'll still stay here, 18," Bulma washed her hands and sat down next to the blonde android. "Every kid needs their mother, and he knows that. But you know he cares for you, right? I see the way he looks at you, the way he touches you when he thinks no one's looking." Bulma wrapped an arm around the other woman, who leaned into her.

"Its not the same way the royal asshole looks at you, or the way Trunks looks at Cabbage."18 pulled her hands away from her face. "I know its all complicated, because you don't have your memories, and Cabbage is…well, Cabbage, but still…"

"You gotta keep in mind, Trunks and Cabbage are pretty young, and Vegeta was pretty young when he and I got together, but the king is like, eighty years old, mentally. Men that old are cautious with everything, especially their hearts."

"You know what really sucks?" 18 smiled bitterly, "A year ago I could have cared less if anyone ever loved me. Now I cant stop whining about it." She turned to the other woman suddenly, blue eyes wide and desperate. "You think it has anything to do with him owning my soul?"

"I don't know." Bulma answered honestly, "You gotta take love where you can find it, you know? I went on this huge quest, looking for the Dragon Balls so that I could wish for a boyfriend, and I ended up finding one on my own instead of having to wish for him. I guess looking for the Dragon Balls has brought me every good thing in my life, you know? Even if I cant remember it." Bulma smiled. "You just gotta wait it out, 18, and it'll come. I mean, I was terrified about what was going to happen between me and Vegeta once we were alone, but he just kept picking fights about stupid things, getting me all worked up over nothing, and then somehow it was okay."

"I wondered why you fought so much," 18 smiled, finally relaxing.

Cabbage suddenly threw the door open, diving for the toilet; she hit her knees and hurled the contents of her stomach into the bowl. After nearly a minute of retching and spitting, she flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth out at the sink, where she caught sight of the little white sticks.

"What are these?" She asked, turning to the two women sitting on the edge of the tub.

"Pregnancy tests," Bulma smiled weakly.

"What, for both of you?" Cabbage looked between them, raising her eyebrows at their nods. "Shit. No wonder you smell different. I couldn't figure out what it was."

"Hey, are you okay?" Adara stuck her head into the bathroom, her brown hair falling over her eye patch. "I saw you come running down the hall, and I just wondered…Oh, hello. Am I interrupting?"

"Of course not," Bulma smiled, "Just the morning round of pregnancy tests."

Adara blinked her single green eye, her face blank.

"King Vegeta expects Nappa to get me pregnant, doesn't he?" the question was blunt, delivered without emotion.

"He wants it to happen," Cabbage leaned against the sink, "But just about everyone else here is pretty bound and determined to make it your choice. If you don't like Dad, don't sleep with him. And if you do, welcome to the family. Its that simple."

"Nothing about this family is simple," Adara smirked suddenly, tossing her hair out of her face, revealing the eye patch.

They laughed, because it was true.

"What's going on here?" the voice was gruff with sleep, and Adara stepped into the bathroom so that King Vegeta could hover grumpily at the doorway.

"I'm pregnant," 18 said, biting her lip.

"You crawl out of bed at the crack of dawn, and cause a huge ruckus, just to tell me something I already know?" the king sighed. "C'mon." He held his hand out to her, and 18 took it uncertainly, glancing over her shoulder at Bulma as the king led her back down the hall.

"Woman!" the younger Vegeta stuck his head into the bathroom almost immediately, "We're out of rice again. Get that stupid car ready so we can go into town. You need to see a doctor anyway." He was gone the next instant, and Bulma turned surprised eyes to Cabbage.

"Told you," the Sayajin woman said, smirking. Bulma just laughed and scuttled down the hall after her prince.

As she pulled on her clothes, she watched him out of the corner of her eye, as he pulled on a t-shirt and jeans.

"Hey, Vegeta," she turned as he started putting on socks, "What did you think, the first time you met me?"

"I don't remember the first time we met; it was somewhere on Namek. I remember thinking you were the stupidest woman alive, when you offered to let me stay here, after we thought Freeza was dead." Bulma pouted as Vegeta pulled on his shoes.

"If you thought I was so stupid, then how did we…" Vegeta cut her off, blurring across the room and kissing her so hard she felt like she was going to bruise.

"Kind of like that," Vegeta smirked at her, as he let her go.

"What kind of answer is that?!" Bulma shrieked after him, as he left the room. She darted after him again, striding angrily.

"Only time I ever saw anyone shut you up, was when Yaumcha kissed you in the middle of one of your tirades. Worked better for me than it ever did with him." Vegeta flashed her a particularly evil smirk, as he scooped her keys off the kitchen counter and tossed them to her. "Drive, woman, and try not to get yourself killed."

Bulma drove like a maniac, just to get even for that smirk.

* * *

B/V love, just for you, omnipotent P! Sorry there's so little of it, but there'll be more in later chapters...promise!


	12. Destiny

Raditz carefully carved the final touches on the dining room table – he'd lowered the solid block of oak through the unfinished roof, and while he'd been carving it with his ki, Gohan and Videl had finished the roofing. He knew Bardock was still upstairs, putting the flooring in the second story, and Kakarrot was tiling the kitchen while Chi Chi oiled the cabinets. Elyse was picking up trash wherever she saw it, getting rid of debris as she waddled through the house. Seven months pregnant, the house mostly finished, still sleeping in cots around the campfire, and Elyse still managed a level of cheerfulness that boggled Raditz.

She babbled about rings and ceremonies, yet seemed to know that the most Raditz was capable of was sharing a bed and fighting. He liked children, though, and had a hard time prying away from Sloane, a child at least seventy years younger than him that had to be considered a sister. He'd caught the way Elyse looked at him, though, not only as he'd played with Sloane, but Pan, hefting the unwieldy child into his grasp as she darted by.

Pan surprised him now, as he ran careful fingers over the surface of the table.

"Uncle Raditz?" she perched in front of him, just out of arms reach.

"Yeah, kid?" Raditz didn't look up from the table.

"You've died before; will it hurt when the pink monster kills you?" Pan asked, all child-like innocence.

Raditz froze, slowly looked up at the wide brown eyes of his niece. "I think dying hurts no matter how you do it," Raditz said slowly, watching the brown eyes flash for a mismatched moment.

"Raditz," the Sayajin man jerked at the sound of his name, staring at the woman standing across the table from him.

"Maeve," Raditz smiled, then bent to his work, too disconcerted to be more polite.

"Bardock had a vision," Maeve barged on, heedless of the feelings of her protectors' son.

"He's had a few here and there," Raditz glanced at Pan as he said it, still wondering at just how human the child was.

"About Sloane," Mave prompted, finally inducing a long, contemplative look from Raditz. "He wont tell me about it, though."

"So you come to me," Raditz smirked, "'Cause he has t' tell someone. You don't trust him, when he tells you that you don't want to know."

"I need to know." It was so desperate, Raditz felt compassion for his father's consort.

"Sloane will kill her father," Raditz straightened, letting Pan leap onto his shoulder, "It's a long way down the road, and she'll do it for all that noble shit that Kakarrot believes in," Raditz smirked suddenly, dangerously, "But she'll be raised Sayajin. Don't you ever dare doubt the power that comes from that. She'll be the greatest queen this planet has ever known."

Maeve slumped against the table, staring down at her still-infant daughter. "Bardock knows all that, and he still wants children from me? Even though my daughter will overshadow the destinies of all his children?"

"Sloane wont be over-shadowing anyone, let alone Kakarrot or Gohan." Raditz snorted, "And right now, continuing the Sayajin race is more important. Destiny doesn't mean shit."

"What about my destiny?" Pan asked.

"Pan, none of us know what the fuck to do with you," Raditz snorted. "Go with Aunty Meave now, kid, I gotta work on this table."

Pan scampered off, and Meave left with a lingering look, but Raditz just focused on the table. He planned to be eating at for the next few decades, and it was going to be _damn _good.

* * *

Some more of Pan being creepy. I think there'll be about four more chapters, but we'll see how this plays out. Leave a review about what you guys think needs to be flushed out more, things you'd like to see developed before I wrap everything up.


	13. Circles

Prince Vegeta sat between his father and son, watching a pregnant Bulma and 18 argue shrilly over his screaming grandson. As far as he could tell, it was over the proper temperature of baby formula. Cabbage was standing back, lip curled in a deadly, silent snarl, her dark eyes flashing between the two other women. Every once in a while, she glared balefully at Trunks, biding him silently to step in. The poor boy was looking helplessly between the three women, and Vegeta was enjoying his discomfort immensely, until Bulma turned to him.

"Vegeta, _tell_ _her_!" Bulma and 18 screeched at the same time, turning to both men. They blanched, suddenly alarmed at being dragged into the argument.

"Fuck this shit, you harpies can sort it out your selves!" King Vegeta turned on his heel, stalking out of the room. His son and grandson scurried after him, glancing back fearfully.

"None of you are getting laid for a _month_!" Cabbage screeched; Trunks darted back to the doorway, looking indignant.

"I _haven_'_t _gotten laid in a month!"

"_You _try pushing something the size of a watermelon out a hole in your body the size of a lemon!" Cabbage fired a ki blast after him as he darted back through the house, catching up to his father and grandfather as they stepped out the front door.

"Is that what you wanted?" Trunks asked his grandfather, "A room full of screaming, pregnant, emotionally unstable women?"

"We need to find Adara; she's relatively sane." King Vegeta looked around the yard frantically. "Nappa's that way, she's probably with him." He stalked towards an out-compound, shoulders hunched forward determinedly.

"She's only sane because she's not eight months pregnant!" Prince Vegeta snarled. "Rings and Moon, I thought your mother was bad when she had you – now she's a fucking nightmare! When are you going to wish her memories back?"

"The Dragon Balls aren't even active yet!" The king snarled over his shoulder. "You think the scrap heap isn't just as bad?! That girl has so much fucked up emotional shit going on, I would've been better off with another hole in my head!"

"Ha!" Trunks snarled triumphantly.

"What happened to repopulating the Sayajin race?" the prince asked in a low, dangerous tone.

"No, that part I'm happy about." The king stopped suddenly, turning to talk to them. "We're going to _survive_. We're _actually _going to _survive_. We just seem to have this weird thing for crazy bitches."

"Cabbage isn't!...okay, yeah…" Trunks caught himself halfway through the initial protest, knowing it was futile.

"No defense for your mother?" Trunks looked at his father incredulously for a long moment.

"She fell in love with _you_. _Twice_. What about that is sane?"

"Brat!" Vegeta kicked playfully at his son, "You see this shoe? I'm gonna tattoo it on your ass!"

"I just…" Trunks grinned and dodged, sobered suddenly as he looked back at his grandfather. "I don't get what you see in 18, no matter how much you compare her to Cabbage." For once, it was an open, honest question, without the accusatory tone he'd maintained so far.

"They're best friends for a reason, kid," the king folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head to one side as he explained. "You're all hyped up on this holier-than-thou protector shit. Kid, you're a _Sayajin_; Sayajin _like _to kill. When you killed 18 and her brother, wasn't it the most joyful thing you'd ever done?" The king smirked as Trunks looked away, not wanting to admit it. "You try to hard to make your human side crush your Sayajin side. You think about blasting her to smithereens every fucking day, kid, I see the way you look at her."

"And I see the way you look at her," Trunks snapped defensively. "You don't love her any more than I do."

The king pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing his unscarred neck, and motioned for his son to do the same. "Kid, it'll be years before Cabbage returns your mark, and even then, it might not be a true bond, just an acknowledgment. Your parents are true-bonded. But me? I've never loved a woman, Trunks. Its tradition to kill the mother of the royal heir. I like 18, she's a nice girl and easy to pass the time with, and since there's no empire for her to try to take over, there's no reason to kill her. That's the balance, kid, in finding the joy in the ones that have to die, and letting the useful ones live." The king watched his grandson's carefully considering eyes. "You think its too cold-hearted? With the way things are now, you'll never be king. I'm the one that has to make the ultimate decisions for our people, and I'll live long enough to train your son. The two of you will never truly rule; you just complete the circle."

"What circle?" Trunks asked.

"Warrior, father, and wiseman." The prince answered, just as Adara rounded the building they'd been walking toward, and they turned to wait for her to step in close. Nappa wasn't far behind, slinging some huge machine of Bulma's over one shoulder as he lumbered across the lawn.

"Hey," she smiled, her single green eye crinkling pleasantly.

"The girls are arguing in the kitchen. We need you to go play peace maker." Trunks told her, blushing slightly.

"Oh, good grief," Adara rolled her eye and pushed past them and into the house.

"She pregnant yet?" the king asked his general, who'd come to a full stop next to him.

"Yep."

"None of you are allowed to kill yourselves," the king snapped as his son and grandson blanched; Nappa didn't seem too worried, but the other three pitied him – he'd had the ability to run away, up until now.

* * *

Lots of italics; just how it came out...Next, the Son house. And then I think I'm going to start wrapping it up, say another four or five chapters maybe. I got some great ideas for how to flush this world out before I end it; the whole Meave/Sloane thing was something that I hadnt thought was a big deal, just throwing in another character to pair with Bardock, but I'll play with it some more just to make it clear. Adara still has amnesia, and I'll play with that some, too; yes, shahi, the Son's DO need a mansion, but the idea I had for the house seemed too complicated, like it was getting in the way of the story. If you want it in there, I'll work it back in, I just didnt think the detail involved was going to be relevant.

As for all the babies - look at all these badass women, all becoming moms. You really think they'll take Buu lying down, after they all lived through the androids? I'm not going to break TOO far out of cannon up until the very end. *winks*


	14. Memory

Raditz watched Sloane toddle after Pan as the older child climbed onto the wood pile, chastised at a distance by Ellysse. His mate cradled their infant son, Rhuba, as she tried to balance a shopping bag on one hip while she yelled. Meave came out of the back door of the finished house, and immediately darted after her daughter, her red hair billowing behind her as she moved.

Radtiz chose to remove himself from the actual disciplining of the children, not only because he was in the process of dressing a deer, but also on the general grounds that discipline was not so much a punishment for the individual child but an argument between the adults.

Raditz thoroughly approved of a good hiding and twenty or so laps around the house, but the argument from his mate, his sister in law, his father's girlfriend, and Videl – amongst themselves, after they'd ganged up on him and quieted him into submission – would reach decibel levels he could no longer handle. So he stayed out of it.

Now that they all had their own rooms, and the girls had worked out a chore rotation, things were starting to settle down. Gohan had ploughed up a few miles for crops, and Bardock was researching animal husbandry now that Raditz had taken over Pan's training. There was no way that one tiny town could support five hungry Saiyajin, so they'd converted the surrounding property into a ranch and farm that would put a dent in the costs.

"You need help with that?" Goku asked his brother, materializing next to the long-haired Saiyajin just as Meave hauled a screaming Sloane off the wood pile.

"Nah," Raditz shook his head. "I'm almost done. Did you finish building the dressers?"

"Yeah, four big ones for all the couples, and one for Pan, plus three others. And we still have all the furniture from the old house." Goku crouched down next to his brother, idly watching the deer carcass being dressed. "Except most of that is in the nursery."

"I still say we should have put it on the bottom floor. It'll be a long walk for sis in the middle of the night, and all the kids are gonna have to share a room when they get bigger." Raditz said.

"You can smell Chi Chi already?" Goku looked surprised.

"Yeah, just barely. At least we got lucky – they wont all be pregnant at once." Goku laughed, and sobered quickly at the horrible thought. He shuddered violently to dispel the thought, but when he looked up, it was to the site of Chi Chi collapsing in the yard.

Goku left a residual image next to Raditz as he moved to his wife.

"Chi Chi! Wake up, Chi Chi, c'mon!" He shook her gently, and Chi Chi sat up clutching her head.

"Oh, god, that hurt," Chi Chi muttered, and looked up at Goku slowly. "Hey, Goku, will you help me inside?" She let her husband haul her to her feet and get her turned around, and looked at the enormous house now in front of her.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?!?"

Videl peeled off her dirty jeans and dumped them in the dirty laundry pile as Gohan settled into their bed.

"I still cant decide if it's a good thing your mother's got her memories back or not." Videl sighed.

"I know." Gohan shuddered at the memory of his mother's fury. "I mean, as soon as she remembered making the decision to tear down the old house, and the whole year and a half we spent building this place, it wasn't so bad…" Gohan grimaced as his wife pulled her shirt and underwear off and stepped into her pajamas.

"Speak for yourself." Videl crawled into bed, and snuggled close to her husband. "Pan is doing really well, though. I'm surprised."

"All things considered? Yeah, she's just like every other girl her age, I guess. Not many kids running around destined to be the dark minions of the gods of death, though. She's not talking as much about that pink monster, even. That's a good sign."

"Maybe," Videl hedged, narrowing her eyes. "She's still making creepy comments. You know? Like last week, she told that old man in the street that he didn't need to be afraid of dark places, even though he'd die in one. She talks about our deaths in the present tense, not the past or future. She knows something more than we ever will, Gohan."

"I know," Gohan wrapped both arms around Videl, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The mark of two gods and a demon, plus the piece of bark around her neck…Gohan didn't even want to think about training his daughter. And the power of her sword alone…not to mention the prophecies about Sloane that had been made.

"And what about that king dude? I mean, I'm all for repopulating the earth and everything, but he seems so cold-hearted about it," Videl sneered from Gohan's chest, her own face half-buried in the masculine torso.

"Don't worry about that, hon. King Vegeta wouldn't admit to an emotional connection with anyone if he could help it. As it is, he doesn't know what the hell to do with either Vegeta or Jardin. Or Trunks, for that matter. Five bucks says he's panicked out of his mind. Not to mention Bulma."

Videl sniggered.

"Bulma, remembering everything within the past year!" Videl rolled away from her husband and into a full-out laughing fit. "And pregnant!" Videl laughed until she was out of breath, before rolling back to face her husband. "I feel a little sorry for her, though, you know? She fell in love with Vegeta twice, bore him a child each time, and has to remember holding him in her arms while he died?" Videl choked on her words for a moment. "I couldn't have lived through that, not even once, Gohan."

"I know," they both let his unspoken, unrecorded death pass between them like some kind of ghost in the silence.

Bardock looked up from the book he was reading as Meave came into their bedroom, looking tired.

"Sloane giving you trouble?" he asked, as she stripped down.

"Yeah," the red-headed woman sighed. "It wouldn't be nearly so bad if she didn't follow Pan around all the time."

"Its good for both of them," Bardock shrugged. "Sloane will learn better being taught from such a young age, and Pan will learn better by showing someone else how to do it."

"My three year old daughter knows how to throw a punch!" Meave snarled, standing at the foot of the bed and staring at the man sprawled over it.

"She'd be considered retarded if she were Saiyajin," Bardock marked his place in the book and set it down. "So when are you going to give me a daughter?" his smirk was wicked enough that Meave couldn't help but smile back.

"We should throw a party!" Ellysse set a piping hot cup of tea in front of her sister in law, trying to be cheerful. "To celebrate the house being finished, and you having your memories back! We could invite the Vegetas, it'll be great!"

"And Master Roshi, too!" Goku wrapped an arm around Chi Chi as she cradled the cup in her hands. "It's a great idea!"

"Yeah," Piccolo chimed in from the kitchen sink, "We'll call it the Screaming Harpy Festival, and have all the women compete for who has the shrillest voice."

"We could have our own tournament!" Goku looked excited, "And we can set up games for the kids and stuff! C'mon, Chi Chi, can we? Please? Pretty, pretty please, please please please please?"

Chi Chi looked around the room, her scowl lifting slightly as she let Piccolo's comment pass, and shrugged.

"I'll call Bulma in the morning."

"Guys, Chi Chi had this great idea!" Bulma came blustering into the kitchen, hanging up the cordless phone as she descended on the table of Saiyajin. "The Sons are throwing a party to celebrate the house being finished and our memories being wished back! We're going to have a cooking competition, and a tournament, and games for the kids!"

"Kill me now," Prince Vegeta stabbed a blameless potato on his plate. Bulma's face went from excited to scowling in an instant.

"You're coming." Vegeta snarled wordlessly at his plate. Bulma's smile switched back on like a light bulb. "We all are. It'll be next week."

Bulma practically skipped out of the kitchen, humming tunelessly to herself as she went.

"Do we get to choose between the cooking competition and the tournament, or do we have to participate in both?" Cabbage asked, her own fork paused halfway to her mouth.

"Both is a safe bet." Trunks drained the last of the contents of his cup, set it on his cleared plate with his fork, and took his dirty dishes to the sink. "Although mom might do better in the tournament than in the cooking thing."

"I HEARD THAT!" Bulma's voice echoed from the depths of the house, and her son flinched visibly.

* * *

AN: To celebrate finals week, I post. To apologize like hell for not updating in so long, I post four chapters in one go. Also, my wireless internet LIVES!!!!! Mwahaha. Again, many apologies.


	15. Tournament

"Well, well, well," Master Roshi surveyed the new Son house. "An octagon. That's an interesting shape."

"Isn't it great?" Goku grinned. "There's eight rooms on the top floor, and we put a balcony on the inside so you can see who's in the dinning room, and-"

"Who the hell is this?" King Vegeta landed next to them, his brood not far behind him. Puar and Oolong dove behind Goku, peeking out warily.

"King Vegeta, this is Master Roshi, he's my old teacher, and I asked him to come judge the tournament! And this is Puar and this is Oolong, they-"

"Uh-huh. Kakarot?" the king folded his arms over his chest and half-glowered at the stronger man. "There were nine of us who climbed. Plus my purple brat and the scrap heap, that's eleven. We need an even number."

"Videl said Pan could enter!" Goku grinned, and the King of all Saiyajin quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine. Whatever. Old man," the king focused on Master Roshi again, "Have you come up with a list of rules?"

"Oh, I suppose so," Roshi shrugged, "But why don't we let the girls get set up and have their food competition, so that everyone can fight on a full stomach, eh?"

"Did anyone decide who's judging that?" Trunks asked, tucking a giant cooler under one arm as he helped his mother unload the car.

"Do you want to, Master Roshi?" Goku asked, turning to his former teacher.

"Do I have to eat Bulma's cooking?" Roshi asked in a low whisper.

"Yes." King Vegeta smirked cruelly. "You'll be subjugated to it just like the rest of us."

"I HEARD THAT!"

"For the cook-off, I will be judging based on three categories. Taste, appearance, and quantity! What other way is there to feed so many people, eh?" Master Roshi eyed the table that the food had been displayed on, and decided to work his way from one end to the other. "What's this, roast pork?"

"Mine," Cabbage cocked a hip and planted a fist on it, "Secret barbeque sauce." Master Roshi tried some, made a few notes on a clipboard he'd appropriated, and moved down the line.

"Mashed potatoes?" Master Roshi asked.

"I made them," Adara smiled. "Four cheeses and bacon bits."

Master Roshi tasted, noted, and moved down the line, ignoring the heated argument going on in the background between Piccolo and Vegeta over the construction of the fighting ring.

"Hamburgers?"

"Mine," Eighteen said. "All the trimmings, and seasoned meat."

Master Roshi tasted and moved on, still ignoring the argument behind him. Trunks and Gohan had tried to step in and help, ended up with split lips, and were now shouting along with Piccolo and Vegeta.

"Rice?" Master Roshi cocked his head at the next entry.

"It's the only thing I don't burn!" Bulma snapped, crossing her arms under her breasts.

"Well, you certainly get points for quantity," Master Roshi said around a mouthful, before making a note on his clipboard and moving on. "Oh, homemade bread!"

"That'll be mine," Meave stepped forward, and carved off a slice. "With homemade peach jam, too." She passed the still-warm bread and jam to Master Roshi, who nodded, and made a note on his clipboard.

"Dumplings?" Master Roshi asked, looking at the next dish.

"Mine, of coarse," Chi Chi smiled, holding out the platter. Master Roshi took one, barely glancing over his shoulder as Vegeta finally snapped and round-house kicked Piccolo across the yard.

"Chicken?" Master Roshi asked, as Piccolo rushed Vegeta, the two of them bowling over an unsuspecting Raditz.

"Stuffed and grilled," Ellysse blushed as Master Roshi tried a piece.

"Hey, how's it going so far?" Goku materialized amidst the women, peering intently at the contents of the table.

"Almost done, actually," Chi Chi smiled. "You'd better get over there and tell those idiots that if my lawn gets wrecked, there'll be hell to pay." The smile hardened, and Goku gulped before he rushed off to save the lawn from the escalating brawl.

"Cake!" Master Roshi took the plate Videl handed him, chewed thoughtfully, and made a note on his clipboard. "Well, if those are all the entries-"

"You didn't try my cookies!" Pan pouted, crossing her arms and glaring up at Master Roshi.

"Eh? Oh, how silly of me to forget! Here, I'll just taste them right now-" Master Roshi bit down on the cookie, which crunched audibly. The old hermit winced, but forced himself to continue to chew. His smile was tight and forced, and swallowing seemed a true relief, but Pan still stared expectantly up at him. "Very…very good, Pan."

"Lying is a sin, you know," Pan scolded, "You're just lucky you're going to hell for being perverted, instead of telling really bad lies." Pan turned to Oolong and Puar, who were rolling on the floor laughing, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Master Roshi laughed uncomfortably, checked his notes, and turned to the women. "And the winner is…Chi Chi and her amazing dumplings!" Master Roshi dropped the clipboard and ran, heading for the relative safety of the Saiyajin brawl.

Goku had, for the most part, saved the lawn. Everyone else was scraped, bruised, and bloody. The only exception could possibly have been Goku himself, who was smiling, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, and apologizing for having to use such force.

"Well, I see you've got the ring set up. Fine work, gentlemen. Why don't we establish the rules, eat, and then get started?" Master Roshi adjusted his sun glasses as he studied the ring. "Obviously the ten count and stepping out of the ring apply,"

"And Chi Chi doesn't want the lawn wrecked or stray ki blasts hitting the kids," Goku chimed in.

"Or killing," Gohan added, more for the royal family than his own.

"So no killing, no ki, no stepping outside the ring, and ten counts to get up?" King Vegeta sneered. "What kind of tournament is this?"

"Its just for fun, Grandad," Trunks rolled his eyes. "We cant exactly kill each other off."

"Besides," Prince Vegeta grinned evily, "It's a measure of pure strength and stamina."

"Yoo-hoo!" The men turned collectively, eyebrows raised, towards the women.

"No one gets to eat if they're not going to participate in the hungry baby contest!" Bulma called, hefting Bra out of the stroller and onto her hip.

There were suspicious glares and half-mutterings, and a wary collective edging towards the food table. Luckily, it turned out to be just a competition for which father could feed their baby the fastest, with the women wandering through with cameras, recording their faces as they made plane noises and funny faces in the hopes of opening still-teething mouths.

"Who's a big boy? Yes, you are! Big bite, kiddo, c'mon! There you go, one more, one more!" Trunks cooed to his young son, popping the spoon between Vegeta's toothless gums as fast as the boy could swallow. He ignored his mother as she hovered with the video camera, and Cabbage snickering over his shoulder. Bulma moved on with her camera soon enough, anyway, over to the Prince of all Saiyajin and his sister.

"Open. Good girl. Open. Good. Swallow. Open. Woman, get that infernal camera out of my face! How the hell am I supposed to win with you waving that thing around? Open. Woman!" Vegeta snarled, flinging a spoonful of baby food over his daughter's head at Bulma.

"True warriors aren't so easily distracted!" King Vegeta laughed, steadily spooning white goo into his younger son's open mouth. "I got lucky with this one, he's almost as much of a bottomless pit as Kakkarot!"

"With better table manners," Oolong snickered as Bulma trained the camera on her father in law, smiling as she moved toward him.

"Rhuba's got you all beat!" Raditz crowed, as he set down a second empty container of baby food and took up a third. "This kid cries if I don't go fast enough!"

"We should take off points for how much dribbles out," Videl commented, standing over Bardock's shoulder as the old man shoveled food into his step-daughter's mouth.

"Oh, it cant be that – oh, god, Bardock, the food's supposed to end up on the inside of her!" Bulma stepped around to focus the camera on Sloane's happy face, baby food dribbled all down her front in a sticky mess.

"Is it my fault she barely eats? I'm shocked this kid isn't skin and bones as it is!" Bardock flung a spoonful of baby food over his shoulder at the two women, who shrieked and dodged.

After the feast, they wandered back over to the ring where Master Roshi had drawn up the list of matches, and settled in to watch. First up were King Vegeta and Bardock, who exchanged blows for nearly twenty minutes before Bardock stumbled out of the ring from the force of one of King Vegta's blows. They left the ring laughing, making jibes about the other's performance and what the outcome would be in the next tournament. Next were Piccolo and Eighteen; the fight was vicious, cold, and hateful, ending with Piccolo being knocked out in just under forty-five minutes. Goku carried him to the sidelines, and cheered as Gohan and Trunks stepped into the ring.

The fight lasted for well over an hour, even after they'd powered up completely. All finesse was abandoned and they simply stood in the middle of the ring, staggering on their feet as they volleyed and took blows. Eventually, Trunks backed up and charged, sending them both tumbling out of the ring. Master Roshi ruled Trunks as the victor since he'd landed on top of Gohan, being the second out of the ring. Nappa and Raditz fought after them, which was a surprisingly short affair; Nappa had spent the year and a half rearranging furniture for Bulma, while Raditz had spent the past six months trying to control Pan. Raditz knocked Nappa out of the ring in less than fifteen minutes.

Prince Vegeta grinned ferally as he stepped into the ring with Goku; three hours later, Goku barely won by being able to stand up and the second to fall over. Trunks recommended letting them sleep it off rather than wake them up for the end of the first round. All Cabbage had to do was wait for Pan to get tired, anyway, though it took longer than the older Saiyajin woman expected.

They took a break to eat again, before they started on the final rounds, with Eighteen and Cabbage up first. Cabbage had obviously held back in her fight with Pan, and Eighteen had obviously gone all out with Piccolo; watching the two women fight was like watching two cats in a back ally. Cautious circling, snarling and snide comments, then a vicious flurry of blows, scratching, biting, and hair pulling, followed by another round of circling. Cabbage finally came out the worse for wear when Eighteen decided to end it by hitting her so hard she flew out of the ring and dug a trench with her body. Eighteen was disqualified for wreaking the lawn, but she only rolled her eyes and pulled Cabbage out of the dirt. Then it was Trunks versus Raditz and Goku versus King Vegeta. If either Super Saiyajin had been fighting the member of their family, they might have been obliged to make the fights last longer than five minutes. As it was, both fights ended with three hits; one punch, one kick, and one body hitting the grass outside the ring. By the time Trunks and Goku stepped into the ring together, the sun was starting to set, and Bardock had lit a bonfire and started roasting more meat over it.

Trunks honestly gave it his all, and while neither he nor Goku had taken senzu beans after their fights, Goku was simply better at being able to just get back up. No matter how hard he got hit. Trunks collapsed from sheer exhaustion despite Goku not being able to land a punch, much to Goku's disappointment.

There was more eating and fooling around, an agreement on when to hold the next tournament, and Pan crawled into her grandfather's lap to fall asleep. Videl took a picture of them together, but she didn't see her daughter pull Goku's ear down to whisper a promise to him.

"One day, I'll be even stronger than you, Grandpa."

She fell asleep with one hand curled around the piece of bark and the other hand curled around the hilt of her sword, trusting and unafraid.

Later that night, Bulma tucked Bra into her crib, then crawled in bed with Vegeta. She was careful as she snuggled up to him, avoiding his cracked ribs and bruised muscles. Vegeta still hissed a few times before she settled herself in.

"You were really great today." Bulma said softly, gently tracing the lines of his face in the darkness.

"Hn."

"Vegeta?"

"Hn?"

"I wont live through you dying again. I thought I could, before I got my memories back. But losing you again will kill me."

"Woman…" Vegeta huffed, pulling her closer. "You don't have my permission to die."

"All the same. We all die someday."

"Then I'll meet you at Heaven's Gate."

"Promise?"

"Hn."

"It's a date." She smiled into his bruised and bandaged chest, and felt at peace.

* * *

AN: I promised you, Parunga. BV fluff. Also, sorry for how short a time I spent on the actual fights, if it seriously bothers anyone I'll go in an' fix it. I also wrote the food competition when I was really hungry and only had a bag of raisins. This didnt help...


	16. Adventure

"I cant believe the year is finally over," Pan scratched at the back of her neck, as she looked down at her father.

"Yeah, it flew by pretty quick, huh?" Gohan stretched lazily in the grass, eyes closed. His gi was battered and torn, but nothing compared to Pan's . Not even Chi Chi could do anything for it, so it hung off Pan in slowly disintegrating pieces.

"Lets see," Pan counted on her fingers, "I'll be eleven, so that makes Sloane six, Rhuba five, Goten four, and Pota two. That's a long time, Daddy, they're gonna need a lot of help to catch up with me. Even Vegeta, Jardin, Bra, and Angerine are too much younger than I am. What am I supposed to do now that I've trained with everyone?"

Pan looked forlornly at her father, her eyes large and black. Gohan studied her for a long moment; she looked more and more like Chi Chi as time went by, despite her short hair and the red bandana around her forehead. Her face was smudged with dirt, her lip split and her nose a little crooked from being broken. But that look in her eyes, that longing…Gohan caved.

"I suppose its time you went and had an adventure or two. Go ask Bulma for the Dragon Radar, or talk to Kami…something will turn up."

"What are you supposed to do on an adventure?" Pan asked, cocking her head curiously.

"Oh, you've heard Grandpa's stories. Like that. You go around helping people, and finding ways to get stronger. All you've ever known is living in fear of the androids, and being out here, isolated from most people. You have to go out and experience the world."

"How long does it take?"

"I don't know, as long as takes to finish what you started, I guess." Gohan smiled up at his daughter as she studied the grass for a moment.

"I wanna see the dragon!" Pan grinned suddenly at her father, and stood quickly. "I'll be back for the next tournament, Daddy!" she took off across the meadow and disappeared into the woods, not looking back as she headed into the world. On her own.

It took every ounce of self control that Gohan had to not go chasing after her.

Bulma opened her back door to find a battered, ragged Son Pan grinning up at her. The grin was contagious, pulling at the corners of Bulma's mouth until her face lit up, and she stepped aside to let the filthy child in.

"Hey Pan! What's up, girl?"

"Daddy said I could go on an adventure, so I came to borrow the Dragon Radar. I wanna see the dragon!"

Bulma paused, remembering the exact same words coming out of Goku's mouth, close to forty years ago. Bulma took a moment to really look at the girl, taking in the orange gi falling off her in pieces, the sword tucked into her ragged belt, the red bandana keeping her already short hair out of her face. The grin, the weapon, and the spirit; Bulma shook her head regretfully.

"You know, if I weren't so busy trying to rebuild the world, I'd go with you. Man, I had some good times with your grandpa when we were kids!" Bulma turned down a side hallway leading out of the kitchen and into the depths of the house, Pan on her heels. "And your dad, too, I guess, but by the time we got to Namek nobody really needed me anymore, unless it was to fix some gizmo or other. Now, where'd I put it?" Bulma stepped into her lab, searching around the main work table. "Ah! Here, you'll need this," Bulma passed Pan a capsule case, then continued to rummage through the bottom drawer of her desk, "I know its here, I used to keep it here to remind me of what we were fighting for, and I know it still works…There it is! The one and only Dragon Radar!" Bulma crowed.

"Wow, thanks Auntie Bulma!" Pan reached for the Dragon Radar, but Bulma snapped it out of her reach.

"Oh, no you don't! Little missy, if you think I'm going to just let you take off looking like that, your mother and grandmother wouldn't let me hear the end of it for _years_! C'mon, kid, lets at least get you some Saiyajin armor."

"But…"

"No buts!"

Ten minutes later, Pan stepped out of the bathroom, and looked shyly up at Bulma.

"Goddamn…I mean, wow! Honey, you look just like your daddy did on Namek! You're ready to take on the world!" Pan grinned, and adjusted the sword she'd strapped across her back with strips of her old gi.

"Thanks, Auntie Bulma. I'll see you at the next tournament!" Bulma barely had time to wave before Pan dove out the nearest window.

"Damn…really reminds me of Goku…"

Pan didn't remember much of the city – there had been fewer people, fewer buildings, fewer smiles. Now, people crawled over the broken pavement in swarms, trading and salvaging and rebuilding. Busy with everything. She wandered away from the crowd, heading toward the still broken skyline to the west. Pan knew that, based on conversations her relatives had had and errands that Bardock and Raditz had gone on, that Trunks had tamed a decent chunk of the continent. None of it west.

None of it in the direction of the closest dragon ball.

She made it fifty miles out of the city at a light jog, before she was surrounded by roaring engines. When the dust cleared, the leering gang of road warriors chuckled darkly as their leader got off his bike and strode toward her. He caught her by the back of her armor, hoisting her up in the air and turning with her in his grip, showing her off to the others.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. A little kid. All alone on the side of the dusty road. Kid," the biker turned Pan so that he could look her in the eyes, though she kept them downcast. "Either you're just plain stupid, or nobody loves you."

Pan's head snapped up, her mismatched eyes glowing.

"You're going to die in a small, dark place, with no food or water, and the rats will tear your flesh from your bones while you still breathe." The biker dropped Pan, and she landed heavily in the dirt, still staring up at the man with her glowing eyes. "And then you're going to go to Caina, in the ninth level of Satan's Circles, for what you did to Adara. Your own sister."

"Who the hell are you?" The biker had backed away, slowly, the way a frightened animal does before it flees.

"When you get there," Pan grinned at the man, her unholy eyes fading back to black, "Tell Beelzebub that the spawn of the Usurper says hello."

The man, rather than running, pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans and aimed it at the girl.

"Say hello to him yourself." He pulled the trigger as a feral grin spread across his face, crinkling the skin around his bright green eyes.

Pan held the bullet up between her thumb and forefinger for him to see, then pinched it flat.

"Fight me for real, you coward. None of those stupid toys."

The man leapt for his bike, gunning the motor to life as he tried to back away.

"Move out," he called, over the roar of all the other bikes starting up again. Pan watched them pull away, cocking her head curiously as the cloud of dust settled. Finally, she turned to the ditch off the side of the road, and called out.

"You can come out now. They're gone."

Two boys, one just a little older than her, and the other just a little younger, poked their heads out of the ditch and studied her suspiciously for a long moment. They exchanged a look, then crawled out of the ditch and came to stand in front of her. Covered in dirt, ragged, and thin, they watched her chubby cheeks warily, rather than looking her in the eye.

"Hi! I'm Son Pan. Who are you?"

They exchanged a wary look, before the older of the two jerked his thumb at the younger, "Jael," then at himself, "Joab."

"Its nice to meet you Jael, Joab. I'm headed in," Pan consulted the Dragon Radar, "That direction." Pan pointed, still smiling. "If you're going that direction too, we could go together."

"Yes." Joab nodded, and the boys fell into step behind her. Pan chattered away for the rest of the afternoon, not caring if they responded or not, until she spotted a lake a mile or so off the road getting close to sunset.

"Hey, over there! I bet there's some awesome fish in there!" Pan led them straight to the lake, shucked her armor, and just as she was about to jump in, Jael grabbed her arm.

"There's a monster in there," he whispered, looking frightened.

"Then I bet he'll be good eatin'!" Pan grinned, and plunged. Moments later, she wrestled an enormous alligator onto the beach, wrung its neck, started a fire, carved and skinned the beast, and set it up to roast over the fire while she pulled her armor back on.

Jael and Joab watched her from across the fire, their dark eyes wide.

"Jeeze, guys, I can hear your stomachs from over here! Dig in already, I cant eat all this by myself! Well, maybe I could, but I've never tried before." Pan flopped in the sand and slept soundly when she was done eating, and toed the boys awake at the crack of dawn.

She led them away from the road and into the hills starting to spring up around them, and fished the five-star dragon ball out of an arroyo just after noon.

"Well, I'm still headed west, if you want to come with me," Pan offered, smiling as she skinned a small deer she'd killed, preparing to roast it over the fire she'd started.

"Yes. We'll come with you." Joab nodded, watching her carefully.

"You guys sure don't talk much. I mean, here I am with my throat practically sore from doing all the talking, and you've barely said two sentences. At least tell me why you're headed west."

"Our mother. Those bikers you scared off, they took her." Jael leaned forward, his dark eyes lighting up. "Can you help us get her back?"

Joab nudged Jael hard in the ribs, and shook his head.

"You did something to make them scared of you. We didn't see what it was, but-"

"I did this." Pan closed her eyes, then opened them again to reveal her unholy sight. "This one sees death," Pan tapped her left eye, "And this one sees sin." She tapped her right eye. "I just told them what I saw. And to say hello to an old family friend."

Joab shook his head, stood up, and dragged his brother away from the fire. "We'll find our mother on our own, darkling."

Pan sat by the fire, put her face in her hands, and cried for a little while; not just for the hurt of their disgust, but for the knowledge that they would not live another week.

Pan learned to keep her gift a secret.

Pan pried the one star ball out of a sheer cliff two days later, beat up a few bandits who tried to rob her, and pulled a drowning girl out of a river. As soon as the girl could speak, Pan introduced herself, and offered to go with her for as long as they were headed in the same direction.

Pan ended up going with the girl to her village, saving the chieftains daughter from being kidnapped by a gang of drifters, running into Nappa on a scavenging mission from Bulma, and finding the three star dragon ball under the pile of scraps Nappa was supposed to be bringing back.

"I'm not sure how this adventure stuff is supposed to work, Nappa," Pan juggled the three balls she'd gathered idly, as Nappa ripped the metal out of old cars and crumpled it into balls with his bare hands.

"You're problem, kid," Nappa growled as he ripped into a particularly rusted semi, "Is that you think this is about making friends. You don't need friends. Saiyajin are all you'll ever need. Besides," Nappa looked up from his work, "You're the minion of death gods. You'll never make friends easily."

"But I don't regret it. Its hard to live with sometimes, but I like my gifts."

"Pan," Nappa sighed, "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters, except the next fight, and how much stronger it will make you if you live through it. So find your dragonballs, if that's what you want, or wage war against the gods. I don't care. As long as you fight."

Pan nodded, put the balls away, and headed out.

She found the two star ball in and old shrine, tucked away in the mountains. She took the ball and turned to leave, and found a boy standing in her way.

"Hi!" Pan smiled.

"Put it back."

"Put what back?"

"The ball you took, put it back!"

"What ball?" Pan held up her empty hands, fingers splayed.

"I know you have it, I saw you take it! Put it back!"

"Tell you what," Pan pulled the two star from her armor. "We'll fight for it. If I win, I get to keep it. If you win, you can have this one, and the others." She tossed all four balls onto the ground between them. "But if you win, you have to find the other three, and summon the dragon."

"The dragon?" The boy stared at the balls gleaming on the shrine floor.

"Yeah. You gather those seven balls together, summon the dragon, and make a wish. Two wishes, actually. Then the balls scatter, and you have to wait another year before you can gather them again for another wish."

The boy stared at the balls for another long moment, then up at Pan.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Pan shrugged. "I just want to see the dragon. My grandpa and his friends used to hunt these things down all the time, and when he was training me, he'd tell me a different story every night. So I want to see the dragon for myself."

"Your grandpa…" the boy stiffened suddenly, and dropped into a fighting stance. "Who was he?"

"Son Goku. I'm Son Pan."

"_The_ Son Goku?" The boy's jaw dropped. "He saved my village from the Red Ribbon Army!"

"Usually, people are supposed to introduce themselves after someone else starts the introductions." Pan folded her arms across her chest and glared. The excited look melted from the boy's face, and he bowed quickly.

"My name is Ittai. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well. C'mon, come with me and help me gather all the dragon balls!" Pan scooped up the balls from the floor, took Ittai by the hand, and led him towards the next ball.

Together, after saving Ittai from several miscelanious beatings, kidnappings, and near-death situations, they dug the four star ball out of the desert.

"If there's two wishes, then we each get one." Ittai said, sitting next to Pan in the bed of the truck.

"You can have them." Pan didn't open her eyes, didn't move from her reclined position.

"I only want one, though. For my mother to be well again. She's been sick for a long time."

"The gods have already given me everything I need. Why should I wish for more?" Pan shrugged, pulled the Dragon Radar out to check it, then slipped it back into her armor.

"What about the pink monster? I hear you talk about him in your sleep. You could wish him away."

"No, I cant. I have to face him. He's the only way I'll be the strongest person on the planet." Pan paused for a long moment, eyes still closed. "But I can wish to know what to do when he does come." She checked the Dragon Radar again, and stood. "This is us. Its just another mile off the road. Race you to the last dragon ball!"

Pan leapt from the truck, landed lightly, and started running.

* * *

AN: I honestly dont know where any of this is going any more...I'm kind of making it up as I go.


	17. Back in the Underworld

"Wow." Ittai sat in the dirt, staring numbly.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool." Pan tossed the four star ball into the air a few times, contemplating its now stony surface. "So what do you want to do now?"

"How can you be so nonchalant about this?" Ittai turned to stare at the girl. "We just saw the dragon, and now you want to go gallivanting off again?"

"Why not?" Pan shrugged, and tucked the ball into her armor. "Its not time for the tournament yet, and now that this adventure is over, lets go find another one." Pan turned away from the place they'd summoned the dragon at, and started walking.

"Wait!" Ittai raced after her. "What tournament?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Pan looked surprised for a moment. "Its when I have to be home by. My family has a tournament every year. All my aunties make a bunch of food and have a cooking competition, and all my uncles have a tournament to see who the most powerful warrior is. Only my Aunty Cabbage and my Aunty Eighteen fight with my uncles, though. And there's a little tournament, for the littler kids. I get to compete with the grown ups, though, since I'm so much older than the other kids."

"So, who usually wins?" Ittai asked.

"Well, one year it was Grandpa, and another year it was Daddy, but Uncle Trunks and Uncle Vegeta have won, too. Its always a contest between those four. Hey, does that look like a village to you?" Pan stopped, and shaded her eyes against the sun.

"Yeah," Ittai said, "It looks like some buildings, but I don't see any people around."

"Huh," Pan shrugged and kept walking. "Anyway, the tournament isn't for another six months. I have to go on lots of great adventures, so that I'll have lots of really cool stories to tell everyone when I get back."

"That's really – Pan?" Ittai frowned as he stopped and turned to stare at her. She'd frozen like a statue, while he'd taken a few more steps forward. She tilted her head back just barely, her nostrils flaring. "Pan, what is it?"

"The wind changed," Pan glowered, "I smell blood." She took a few cautious steps in the direction of the village, then broke into a trot she knew Ittai could keep up with. He pounded after her, panting and pumping his arms and legs furiously to keep up with her.

She skidded to a halt in the village square, barely noticing Ittai slam into her and drop heavily to the ground.

"Oh…oh, my god…" Ittai's whisper carried over the silence, as the two children stared at the corpses. "Who…who would do something like this?"

"Don't move." Pan ordered, before gingerly picking her way across the town square, stepping gently over the bodies, until she drew near enough to the black clad figure to speak without Ittai hearing her. "He cant see you, can he?"

The figure turned, lowering the hood of its cowl as it did so. Its face was so gaunt she could see the shape of its skull, and its red eyes were so large it looked like they might pop out if someone hit it on the back of the head.

"You shouldn't be able to see me, either, boy." Its voice was like a coffin lid slamming shut.

"Girl."

"Oh. Goodness. Please forgive me, young lady." The creature made a mocking little bow, thin lips stretching away from sharks teeth in a leering grin.

"You're a Shinigami." Pan tilted her head as studied the popping red eyes. "You work for Enma-Dai-O, don't you?"

"At the moment. And what's a little girl doing, running around spotting Shinigami?" the creature leaned into her, but Pan had already turned back to looking at the bodies. Just to the left was a Dog, large brown eyes opened wide in fear and surprise, the lower half of his body at least five feet away.

"You're going to tell me who did this, and where they went." Pan's voice was soft, as she closed her eyes to burn the image into her mind.

"What makes you think-" Her unholy eyes snapped open, and the glare she leveled at the Shinigami made it step back. "He's an escaped soul from Lucifer's Domain. Absalom the Blade, a ronnin that lived hundreds of years ago. You'll catch up with him at the next village if you hurry. Just follow the road out of here."

"Ittai!" Pan called as she closed her eyes again, willing them back to black, "Lets go!" She waited for the older boy to pick his way across and they headed out of town. "Get on my back," Pan ordered as soon as they'd cleared the radius of bodies. "It'll be faster this way."

Ittai reluctantly climbed on, and Pan shot down the road at a speed that left Ittai seeing stars. Pan dropped her friend on his ass at the edge of the next town square. The villagers had gathered around to watch the sword master warily, but were starting to back up just as Pan stepped forward.

"Is that the best there is?" Absalom roared, whirling to search the crowd with mad eyes. "I told you to send me a warrior, not a puppet! Give me an opponent! Someone to _fight_!" As he moved away from the center of the square, Pan caught sight of a young man's body cut cleanly in quarters.

"Hey, asshole!" Pan shouted, stepping forward.

"Pan, no, he'll kill you!" Ittai tried to catch one of the skirt plates of her armor, in an attempt to pull her back.

Absalom turned, a mad grin stretching his lips until he caught sight of Pan striding forward.

"I said I wanted a _real_ opponent-" he started to snarl.

"Shut up." Pan halted a good ten feet away from him. "I saw what you did to that last village. And I know where you've escaped from." Pan closed her eyes, tilting her head down as a smirk started to play at the edges of her lips. "If you were really there, I'm sure you'll know my great grandfather." Her head snapped up and her eyes flew open, glowing and unholy. "Bardock the Usurper."

Absalom visibly flinched.

"You know him, don't you?" Pan's smirk grew into a grin. "He wasn't even in a deep circle, but Saiyajin…we get bored, you know? So he took the only opportunity he thought he'd get, and he broke free. Most souls, like you, they run for the nearest exit. Not my great grandfather. He used to tell me this story when he put me to bed; he went straight to the throne room, stuffed the Shining One in a jar, chained Beelzebub to the ceiling, and sat on the throne of the damned for three days before the Prince of Light broke free and ordered all the Saiyjin out of his domain."

"There's no way you could know that. Even with your god-touch, there's no way that you could know any of that." Absalom growled, gripping his sword tightly.

"No?" Pan cocked her head. "Where there's a will, there's a way, and Saiyajin have the strongest will." She smiled sweetly, and took a few steps closer. "So here's the deal. I wont fight with my hands, and if you can still defeat me, then I'll let you go. But if you cant, then I'm taking you straight back to where you belong."

"Deal." The grin on the man's face was completely demented, and he surged forward so fast that Ittai cried out.

Absalom's sword shattered on Pan's neck, and a flurry of black hair settled on the ground with the shards of metal. The only sound, after a long moment, was the crowd stating to breath again.

"How…how did you…" Absalom trembled suddenly, and the mad gleam in his eyes settled into something close to joy. He lashed out with his whole body, arms and legs a whirlwind of death as he went after Pan.

Hands clasped firmly behind her back, sweet smile still in place, Pan moved only enough to barely dodge. Absalom backed away from her as his flurry wound down, not yet winded but wary.

"Are you ready?" Pan asked. No one saw her move; Absalom was standing ready one moment, then his body contorted in pain and he screamed loud enough to wake the dead, before he landed in the dirt. "Looks like I win, doesn't it?"

Absalom tried to get up, gurgled up blood, and collapsed again.

"Pan, that was amazing!" Ittai ran up to her, "His sword couldn't even cut you, it was phenomenal!"

"Thanks," Pan turned her black eyes up to him, smiling widely. Ittai noticed her gaze shift to someone over his shoulder, but when he turned, it was just the villagers starting to cheer.

"What's the matter, Pan?"

"We have to take him back to Hell." Pan slung the body over her shoulder and started out of town again, "Well, I have to, but you can tag along if you like." Pan waited until they were far enough out of town that she didn't have to worry about the villagers, before she turned to the Shinigami. "Show yourself."

Ittai screamed and scrambled away from the creature as it took a physical form.

"Shinigami, this is my friend Ittai. Ittai, this is a Shinigami. He'll be escorting us to Hell, so that we can return the soul of Absalom."

"I'll be doing what?" the Shinigami took a step back from the girl. "I heard what you said to him! If you're really the Usurper's spawn, Lucifer will throw a fit, and it wont just be at you!"

Pan, very calmly, and in a very unthreatening manner, drew her sword.

"Take a look at this blade. It was made by a former kami, for my father. It's spilled the blood of Hella and Hades, and Beelzebub shaped its power. Now, tell me I cant walk anywhere I damn well want to in the Underworld."

The Shinigami gathered them up in its arms, covering them in the folds of its cowl, and when it straightened Pan looked up at the crumbling archway.

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here," Ittai read aloud.

"I brought you to the edge; I will not be held responsible for where or what you do now!" The Shinigami left them in a flap of leathery black wings, disappearing into the darkness and smoke.

"Pan, what are we supposed to-" Ittai clung to the younger girl for a moment, before she shook him off.

"Its really not that bad. C'mon." Pan hefted the body of Absalom over her shoulder and started down the stairs. "You'd better hang on to me, too, if you want to get out of here again." Pan warned him.

Ittai clung to her all the way down the stairs, across the four rivers, through the heat and the fire and the screaming. All the way, he hung on every word of the story she told him, about nine souls that dared to climb Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life. Until they were at the very bottom, where there was no more screaming, only cold so profound that Pan had to flare her ki around them both to keep from dying where they stood. The frozen mists parted, revealing a huge throne at the far end of the room. Seated on it, the figure of a man sat, enshrouded in light.

"Who are you, boy?" The figure of light leaned forward, and Ittai collapsed in a faint.

"His name's Ittai. I'm Son Pan. This one got out, so I brought him back for you." Pan tossed Absalom to the foot of the throne, scooped up Ittai, and turned to go.

"You bring back a lost soul, with no thought to a reward?"

"Its reward enough that he cant kill any more." Pan turned to the figure of light once more, and raised one eyebrow. "Besides, what do you care, Lucifer?"

"I have every reason to care when the minion of Hel and Hades steps into my domain. I have every reason to care when the Usurper's spawn dares to waltz into my throne room. Especially when you're still alive."

Pan shrugged. "Then don't give me a reason to come down here again." With that, she turned, and started back up the long and winding staircase.

"Master, shall I…" Beelzebub stepped from the shadows of the mist.

"No. We'll let her go." Lucifer paused, and then in a decidedly more evil tone of voice, said "Maybe a little run in with Osiris will do her some good."

"I'll see to it, O Shining One," Beelzebub smiled, and turned away.

* * *

AN: I kind of threw Ittai in at the last minute. Should I kill him off in the next chapter?


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